Trust
by Natala
Summary: IYxYYH Two friends are betrayed by those they trusted with their lives. They end up seeking safety in the most unlikely place and are soon planning how to stop the insidious plans of those who betrayed them. YusKag
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own the shows Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
Title: Trust  
Prologue - Betrayed

Spoilers: This is set after the end of the anime version of Yu Yu Hakusho. If you have no idea what happens to Yusuke at the end of the Sensui arc and later, don't read, because it will be mentioned, and explained in a few details in later chapters. Also, knowing who Kuronue is would be good. How he's alive will be explained in the story later. For IY, I'd say general spoilers. You should know about Kagura and Kouga, and at least have heard of Ayame and Souten and such, and Tsubaki too, she'll be mentioned eventually. That's it, I think. The pairing and the triangle will be revealed later.

* * *

The first thing she noticed as the portal to Makai closed behind them was that it was sprinkling, and it was nighttime. A full moon night to be exact. Full moons were funny things, and probably one of the only reasons they had been able to get that portal open so quickly and it had closed behind them just as quickly. They were in Ningenkai. Back in Ningenkai for her. She didn't know if he had ever been here. The second thing she noticed was the droop of his shoulders and wings.

Leather and folded as tightly across his back as he could manage, the woman knew tension in him when he saw it. He was still disbelieving, cursing his own foolishness. He should be cursing hers. She had trusted them. She had trusted them, despite the years in between, trusted that they would still do what would be best. He had trusted that the demon that had saved him would never turn against them.

She lifted one hand and let it hang there in between them for a moment. It was a moment, one of those little ones, that there was a choice that really wasn't. To some people, they would have stepped back and allowed him his space. She had never been one to let others suffer alone. Especially one who had proven to be such a great friend.

Her hand landed on his shoulder. He tensed further and she took a large breath. Indigo blue eyes tried to glare at her. She shook her head at him. Then she noticed the third thing. She was cold. She was shivering. It didn't matter. She wanted to go back and scream at them, argue, because in the end, she'd realize by arguing she had turned them back, that they were her friends again. They would be hers and she would be theirs. It was never going to happen.

"You're cold." He'd noticed. She wondered how many other things he'd noticed that she hadn't yet. The trees around them, what kind were they? Were there any dangers in the area? Would they be fighting soon? There were little signs that he gave when he searched for these things. He searched automatically. She was beginning to as well, and most of the time the answers weren't even worthwhile enough to notice consciously.

"A little. It doesn't matter." She let her hand drop and was about to step away. He pulled her back, into his side. One wing stretched out and slightly around her. Not much, he couldn't bend it that way. Just enough that it told her he wanted her to stay, just for a moment. He was warm and she was cold. That was all it was. Others had thought things of them before that weren't, but no one could possibly misplace the helplessness on both their faces.

"We need to find a place to sleep," He said absently, beginning to lead her forward. "I know of this place... It's said to be where a few demons hide in a forest. A shrine, but the woman there isn't a miko, she just has a lot of property. Used to be a real shrine once, probably. You used to live on one, right? This woman is old, but it's said she doesn't make a distinction between humans and demons. We might be able to stay in the forest of few days. No one would go after us, most of the ones there are weaklings."

He continued talking as they walked, keeping her warm and moving, keeping them both from falling from their precarious perch on the edge of sanity. There were steps in front of them, steps that she wanted to shy away from. They reminded her of her childhood home. The childhood she'd thrown away for adventure and quests, thinking because she's done it once, she could continue to save the world again.

"Kuronue..." Her voice broke his heart. It sounded so frail and broken and the tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks stung his own eyes. He turned towards them and forced her unwilling body forward.

"We have to. This is the place. Don't worry. We'll be..." _'...Safe' _they both heard in their own minds. Neither wanted to say it out loud. It might jinx it. Nothing was safe anymore. Sometimes, secretly, in the dark, ashamed depths of their mind, they wondered whether they themselves were safe for the other to be around. They never wondered if the other was safe around them. Even now, there was something innocent in both of them. After losing one partner to his own almost death, he wasn't about to lose the only other person he trusted with his back.

"Are you sure?" There was hope there, frail, gentle hope that Kuronue wanted to blow on, add small sticks to, then bigger logs. He wanted it to be a roaring fire, not a small bit of flame on a match that could be blown on with a puff of breath.

"Kagome, I'm always sure." She responded with a weak smile for his weak joke. He couldn't blame her. He wouldn't have even mustered up the effort to smile even that much for a joke as bad as that.

"Come on taka, cheer up." He used the ultimate on her. His little nickname for her. She smiled a bit brighter. She had once argued with it. In her opinion, she had none of the characteristics of a falcon. But he wouldn't be swayed.

Kuronue grinned as she started stepping up the stairs a bit faster. He lightened his own step until they were striding up towards the shrine. At the top she hesitated, staring at the front of the building. Kuronue tugged her forward. She followed, still hesitant as she stared through the dark night at what was now their only hope.

Two knocks on the door before a young seeming female demon opened the door. She looked surprised to see them, red eyes looking over them worriedly. "Yes?"

"We were wondering if we would be allowed to ask permission to stay in the forest. Just for a day or two. We just need to find ourselves somewhere else to go and then we would be away from here." Kuronue couldn't remember ever getting this close to begging. But then again, he'd never found his partner, either of them, in such a mental situation as Kagome was. She was on the edge, like him, and he was as surprised as her that they had managed to get out from makai without killing the ones who had betrayed them. Or at least tried to kill them. They almost had. They'd been so close, her arrow had even been pointed towards them. Then they had left. And he and Kagome had run, run away, running as far away as they could.

"You want to stay in the forest? It's freezing out!" In an instant her opinion changed as the two looked confused. She ushered them in and started leading them to another room. "I'll talk to Master Genkai about getting you two rooms."

"Rooms?" Kagome questioned, her eyes already drooping from the unexpected warmth they had stepped into. It seeped into her skin, soothing her soul. Good people had a home here.

There were two females talking but the words were incomprehensible to her. Kuronue was paying attention and nodding. He glanced at her a couple of times but apparently recognized the fatigue and didn't shake her out of it until both females, one human, one demon, were looking at her expectantly. "Should we stay here, taka?"

"Kuronue... We should. This is it. You were right." He grinned and she could hear the comment forming on his tongue. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes, letting her mind shut down. She was secure in the knowledge that not only would he catch her, she would be safe when she woke up.

* * *

"We can't find them." The blunt words had the impassive dog demon stalking towards the demon speaking them. His eyes had the faintest red tinge. He was angry. He was enraged. He was also, by some recent reports, slightly insane. The wolf trembled as the claws he hadn't even seen move stopped dangerously close to his throat.

"Why not?" The growl reverberated through the room, through the castle, through the dreams of two lonely fugitives who shivered in their sleep, dirty, damp, and finally safe. Out of his reach, out of sight, not even the keen sense of smell of the wolf pack could track them.

"We don't know." More blunt words. No explanations, no excuses. It was how he liked it. It was why this one had been sent. Sesshoumaru knew why he had really been sent. The most worthless son, but they could send nothing less than one of their own cubs without being insulting. Sesshoumaru's golden eyes stared at the cub, not even three decades old yet, and his claws ripped through his neck. The head fell to the floor and he stared at with distaste.

"Clean it up," He ordered when a low level demon who was used as a servant came to see what the disturbance was. Obediently, and with no shock shown, the demon proceeded to clean it up.

"Well, it doesn't matter. We succeeded with part of the plan even without them," Sesshoumaru spoke to an apparently empty room. The silky laugh from one corner had him glancing at the reflection of his succulent mate of five hundred years.

"We did, didn't we? They're so shocked they probably won't even ever bother with demons again. To think, they actually thought we were doing this for peace. Neither of us, nor the others, is your golden-hearted brother. Oh, and I've had our little prize brought to us. They'll bring it up in a few moments." Smirking red eyes stared into liquid amber as he turned, his face blank.

"Who is bringing her?"

"The boy of course. What better way than to make sure she never attacks than keep him close?" Even as she finished speaking there was a knock on the door. It opened to show two cold-eyed males with a large sack between them. The kitsune stared at them with hatred filled green eyes while the boy looked at everything through hopeless and betrayed brown ones.

"Left and abandoned, weren't you Souta? She left you to us, all alone, she doesn't-"

"Touch him and die." Kagura's hand stopped inches from the boy's face and inwardly she quivered at the look of killing intent on the kitsune's face. He was serious, more serious than he had been since he'd been reunited with the miko. Perhaps it had been a bad thing to tell her things so soon, now the kitsune that even Sesshoumaru was hard pressed to beat sometimes was back. Without Tokijin at least.

"You may leave now." Sesshoumaru tried to make it sound like a dismissal but as it left his throat it became more of a choice as the haughty kitsune stared at him. Shippo turned and accompanied Souta as they left and went as far from the dog demon as they could.

Sesshoumaru looked eagerly down at the package, one delicate slice of his claws piercing it and another push had the sack falling away to show the dirty and beaten body of a young woman. He sighed slightly and ran one sharp claw along her neck, careful not to pierce. Kagura chuckled. "Looks a bit like her, doesn't she? The bone structure, I bet her eyes. But there's much of him as well, and the other lines in her."

"If she has that line." The claws pierced a small line down her arms and the dog demon brought his claw up to his mouth, licking it and narrowing his eyes. The wind sorceress looked anxious and glanced at the girl, wondering if this was another wrong one, if this one too was just another one to bed thrown to the uncivilized parts of Makai.

"Well. I am glad my little Rin left descendants behind. This makes things much easier." Terrified brown mahogany brown eyes opened, only to roll up again into a dead faint at the appearance of two smirking, very evil looking unworldly seeming creatures.

* * *

Out in the lands surrounding the castle, a boy and a kitsune walked, the boy snorting. "They're so gullible. Like I would really believe Kagome abandoned me. Too bad we did have to capture that girl, but at least Kagome will have a little bit of time to plan things."

"You really believe she'll come back to help us? She has the freedom to walk away in her grasp. They both do." Shippo's golden tails swished thoughtfully as he spoke and he stared off into space.

"Would you do that if you had the chance?" Souta looked curiously at his relative by adoption. Was he nephew, brother, or uncle? It all depended on the time of day sometimes.

"...I don't know."

"I wouldn't." Unlike Shippo, Souta was full of confidence. "I'd stay and fight, no matter what. And so will she." Privately, Shippo agreed. It ran in their family. They were stubbornly loyal and held on to their loved ones with more tenacity than a teenager held onto his or her angsty image.

But, he was part of that family. Wasn't he?

"It was nice work you did, setting up the illusions and having me run that way while they used some plants to keep their smell covered. I guess my scent was close enough to fool the animals." Not just the ones used for scenting. His scent, his mannerisms, if worse ever came to worse, both Shippo and Kagome had agreed that Souta could be the next Guardian. No one who hadn't seen them would realize the difference, especially as Souta became more experienced. Not in the basic stories anyway. Their personalities had too many differences for them to be able to trick the people who knew.

But since a good percentage of the people who knew them were also the ones who wanted Kagome dead or controlled, they were already their enemies, weren't they?

"Why are they doing this?" Souta asked finally.

It was a very good question.

* * *

End part

Yeah, yeah, too many stories all ready. You know what? I've started a total of fifty five stories, according to my folder count. Some are only ideas, some have half written chapters and scenes. Then there are the approximately fifteen I've posted. So that I actually finished a first chapter of one of them is amazing.

Review if you please. Review if you don't please.


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Trust  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha  
Author's Note: I know a lot of you have questions, plot and pairing related. Sorry everyone, I know I usually give spoilers, those of you who've asked things before, but I'm keeping things to a minimum in that case in this story.

* * *

Chapter 1 - Manipulation

Sleep. She hadn't had any more than snatches since that fitful day (or had it been night?) that she had realized what was going on. And now she was safe. Another word that was suddenly unfamiliar with her. There was no safe. There was only tension and battle and tragedy and endless despair and betrayal. There was no safe place. No one was safe to be near, except Kuronue.

She shifted her head to glance up toward the ceiling, relieved to find he was still hanging there. It never occurred to her to find it odd that she was so used to him that she didn't look towards a bed, but the ceiling. It was part of his magic, his natural power (couldn't really be called magic then, could it?) that he could sleep upside down on any surface. Not that it stopped him from sleeping on a normal surface. Kuronue just preferred the ceiling. Safe, and unexpected.

The softest, palest shade of yellow light illuminated a small spot on the floor. Kagome stared at it and pulled her feet back. Blue-gray eyes looked towards the window, relieved to find it was just early morning light, not a reflection of some kind. With a soft sigh and a shake of her head Kagome stepped out of bed. She glanced around, finding the simple clothes that had been left for them. Jeans and a shirt. So simple.

She usually had worn skirts when she'd lived in ningenkai. It seemed such a long time ago, but it was only what, a year?

This outfit looked so... young. And so normal. Kagome shook her head absently and decided it was time to see what else was here in this "safe" haven.

Dressed and clean, after finding the shower and hoping she was allowed to use it, Kagome finally ventured out beyond the door and into the hallway, glancing down at the pink shirt that seemed such an odd, bright color to her. Pastel pink wasn't a common sight in Makai, especially in Sesshoumaru's piece of land. Stolen land, really, but he hadn't claimed a portion large enough to come to the attention of Enki or the other, less influential, demons. Or even the more influential demons. Just another demon claiming a bit of land for himself.

She drifted into a main room, one with some chairs and a small table. Not an eating room, that she could see through another door, and what appeared to be a kitchen beyond that. Most of the other rooms looked to be other spare bedroom (some seemingly used), or simple rooms for meditation or training. She had seen other buildings, at least one a dojo she presumed.

"You're up early." The soft comment had Kagome whirling around, one hand outstretched and glowing, the other by her side, palm flat as an almost ghostly pink mist hovered around, not at all like the glowing of her other hand. Her eyes had gone wide and mixtures of fear and surprise shone through. Yukina's concerned crimson eyes showed only surprise out of those two emotions. Kagome was quick to draw back.

"Sorry..." The whispered apology had no effect on the koorime except for her to smile slightly. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Couldn't sleep in. Once I get up..."

"You stay up. The boys are like that a lot. Too much danger around them.  
Anyone surrounded by danger would have a hard time sleeping and pretending that the dreams in their minds will save them." Kagome stayed silent as the ice apparition stared at her, the sympathy in her eyes very real and so innocent and whole. Too perceptive. Or the demon simply recognized familiar things in her.

"It's alright. I don't need to know. Would you like some breakfast?" Another smile as Kagome's face brightened slightly. If it was lunch or dinner she'd ask for oden, but since it was breakfast...

"Do you have pancakes?"

* * *

The first thing that hit his ears was unfamiliar voices. He dropped soundlessly to the ground, flipping himself so his feet landed on the ground and crouched down, gauging the distance, the speakers' attributes, and if hostility was heard. An instant was wasted crouched before the bat youkai appeared to relax. Looking down at himself he decided a few minutes wasted getting clean would not be too worrisome. Though he was keeping his old clothes. He was not wearing those human clothes.

When he padded on silent feet towards where he could sense newcomers, and not too far away Kagome, he kept himself ready. Just because he sensed no aggression didn't mean there wasn't any. He had been wrong before. He kept his aura as hidden as he could while still seeking theirs, frowning at the familiarity of one. An enemy? No, it didn't set off warning bells.

"Youko Kurama..." It slipped out before he could stop it. A small choked sound as he stared at the red head that whirled around, breaking the comfortable teasing air the group had been sitting in. Green eyes flashed to gold and the rest of his aura tickled Kuronue's senses. _Human._ He was human now... but not? Where was Kagome? She was able to read auras better than he did. But that was Kurama. _Kurama_.

"Inari-sama," Kurama breathed out the name of one of the kamis kitsunes were said to follow. "Kuronue?"

"I...." The bat managed before the shock of the past few days compounded with the new shock and his eyes rolled up into his head.

"Because that was manly," Kagome muttered quietly, standing unnoticed by a door that led to the room meals were taken in and beyond that the kitchen she and Yukina had been quietly working in, enjoying each other's presence, neither needing, or wanting, to fill it up with needless chatter. Her spine stiffened as the kitsune-human-thing kneeled by her friend's side and reminded herself the bat had said he was Youko Kurama. _The _Kurama.

"Kuronue?" Kurama shook the bat, who was quick to wake up at the slight touch - a bit too quick. In a move quicker than he had been the last time Kurama had seen him, the bat had grabbed his wrist with one hand while the other formed what appeared to be a shimmering incandescent waves, not moving. Indigo blue eyes opened to slits and then widened, quickly releasing Kurama and scrambling back. "I apologize."

"Graceful too," Kagome murmured, this time Kuronue heard her, one of his ears flicking towards her before he dared to move his eyes off the shocked Kurama to scowl at her. "May I remind you that you are the girl who falls off of cliffs?"

"I didn't slam into a tree while flying though, did I? At least my injuries come from accidents. Yours come from stupidity." Kurama stiffened at the insult to the bat youkai who bared his fangs... but good-naturedly.

Yukina chimed in. "If it helps, Kuronue-san, she acted much the same when I startled her when she came out here after waking up."

If anything, his scowl deepened. "You should have woken me up if you were going for a walk."

"I made pancakes." Kuronue's eyes brightened briefly before both of them switched their attention to Kurama, Kagome's eyes soon moving off to the other two. She stared at them, her expression morphing into confusion, then realization and finally a hissing fearful horror.

"Spirit Detectives," She breathed out, standing a bit frozen, her impulse to get out of there, away from them, away from anyone that they could link to Sesshoumaru, even if only because he had said not to bump into them.

"Former, but yeah." The most human looking of the three boys was eyeing the young woman who was looking a bit frantic.

"Taka, not everything he said was true. Almost nothing was." Indecision was splashed against Kagome's face, easy to read and flashing through different emotions as indigo blue eyes pleaded with her. Yukina crowded closer and whispered something in the miko's ear. She tilted her head and frowned suspiciously at the ice apparition but relaxed slightly.

"I see you three have met our guests." Genkai's dry, raspy voice interrupted the group that was at a standoff. Kurama was staring at Kuronue. Kuronue was staring at Kurama. The brown-eyed male was looking curiously at everyone and the demon with the red eyes that looked oddly familiar was glaring at Kagome. Kagome shifted uncomfortably and wondered why. She was answered a moment later.

"Miko," He hissed, his eyes darting from Kagome to Yukina and back, the threat in his eyes obvious. Kagome blinked, shrunk back at the angry, dark crimson orbs, her mind flashing to another pair before she suddenly straightened and glared back at him. "Problem with that?"

"She really is one?" Kurama was staring at Kuronue still, his eyes a mix of gold and green, Youko churning out suspicions and hope. "Yes...onaga."

When Kurama's jaw dropped in joyful shock, Kuronue managed a chuckle, freezing Kagome's glaring contest as she jerked her head to stare at him. He pretended not to notice her staring, or the slight smile she showed at him being happy. "Didn't think it was me, did you old fox? But who else would call the great Youko Kurama a silly nickname?"

Mainly, the two other males in the room besides the old partners were thinking _why _would anyone call _Kurama _an azure-winged magpie? "He steals things. Especially shiny things."

Stares were directed at the bat who just shook his head at them all. "Sometimes, people are very easy to read. Besides, if Youko was skilled in illusions of the mind, I was skilled at the illusions of emotions, and both of us learned how to read into the other's skill. So I became proficient at being able to read body language and eyes and match them up to thoughts, while Kurama did the same with emotions. It was necessary in some cases."

"Yeah, if you decided your victims were pretty as well as worth stealing from," Another mutter and Kuronue turned his head towards his friend and sighed at the tense look to her shoulders. It was true, but there was something else wrong with her. She was uneasy. With what?

He mused on it before fixing his attention to the other two in the room, radiating power with every breath and sighed. So that was it. His eyes caught the old woman's and she raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Are there any particular troublesome demons in that forest?"

Everyone shifted their attention onto the bat youkai fully now and Kagome looked surprised, only the intent look on Kuronue's face stopped her from speaking. "Some."

Kuronue glanced over at Kagome then at Genkai. The old woman seemed to know what the glance said and nodded. Kagome took the excuse to leave and fled the house, disappearing into the forest. Stares followed her and the one Kuronue was pretty sure was the toushin opened his mouth. "Where's she going? Sure, most demons in there aren't that strong, but it can still be damn dangerous in there. What is she doing?"

"It was uncomfortable in here for her. She is unused to your auras and she is used to being around demons that take every precaution to cover up how much power they have until it is too late. Most of the time, she can sense it anyway, but for you two to be leaking power so bluntly put her on edge and it makes her skin crawl, that much youki." Kuronue spoke almost absently, not realizing he was telling them how well he knew the girl to know how she worked inside and out like that.

"Once she's used to you, she won't be so tense, and will be less..." Kuronue hesitated, unsure how to put the comments Kagome had made. What category would they go in?

"Snarky?" The probable-toushin suggested. Kuronue nodded in agreement.

"Who is she?" Kurama's question went to the heart of the matter and Kuronue took time to carefully consider his words. The wrong word and even Kurama would take it the wrong way.

"She is Kagome. A young human woman who I have befriended and who has recently been betrayed by many she trusted. While I hadn't heard the famed Spirit Detectives - excuse me, _ex_-Spirit Detectives - were around this place, I had heard about it being a safe haven for ones like us." Kuronue was standing now and observing the room quietly. Kurama motioned to the sitting area and the bat sat on one chair as the three boys sat across from him with the older female to the right of the opposing chairs and Yukina on the left.

"Safe haven from what?" Kurama was running his eyes over what he could see of the bat. Demons didn't scar easily, but Kurama could see a few, one scar looking quite recent peering out from his shirt. It ran down the side of his neck into said shirt and he oddly couldn't place what had done it.

"Those that betrayed us." It seemed to be all he was going to say on the subject. His eyes were trained toward the window and all of them felt the slight shockwaves of energy. It was rather uncomfortable. Kurama frowned and the probable-toushin shifted his weight in annoyance. The fire apparition refused to admit it was a bothersome energy. Kuronue didn't seem uncomfortable at all and hardly batted an eyelid.

"She went a little overboard, it seems. Good for her stress. Bad for anything in that forest." Kuronue's wry smile was part amusement and part pride, with a smidgeon of worry mixed in.

"Who betrayed you? How strong are they?" Kurama tried to dig in a little deeper. Kuronue gave him this small sad smile before covering it with careful blankness. "I think it would be better not to say. In a few days we'll be back to top form and out of your hair."

"Where will you go?" Kurama felt the briefest flash of ire. This wasn't going at all right. Kuronue wasn't speaking to him. He was keeping secrets from him.

"We haven't thought about it. I owe a debt to her, Kurama. And it is part of the guilt I share with others that she was snared in so easily and we were all so blind... We will probably go back. Rescue the others, get revenge and save innocents and do all of that golden-hearted heroics she's so fond of. I never liked heroes. Constantly getting killed they are. But, Kagome is Kagome and when that girl manages to squirm into your heart, it's very hard to deny her." The bat's smile was fond and his eyes avoided Kurama's. He didn't want to disappoint his old friend, but it really wasn't his story to tell. Or it was, but not. It all, ultimately, tied into her story.

Kurama was looking away also and the room seemed a bit chilly now. Kuronue's wings were folding and unfolding nervously. Hiei's eyes bored suspiciously into the bat's head. The toushin - he was sure now - still looked annoyed.

"Hold up. I've got a question. Who the fuck turned the angst meter up?" His arms were crossed in front of his chest now and he was glaring at all of them in turn. The bat's lips quirked up for a moment before he wiped it off as sharp stares were directed his way.

"When teenagers are involved, you can always count on there being angst." This time Kurama joined the majin in glaring as Kuronue attempted innocence. Humor was always the preferred way to turn non-hostiles away from a hostile subject. No kitsune had taught him that.

Kagome prying open one window and falling in with a small, delighted smile on her face forestalled any reply they would have made. "It feels a bit like home here. I didn't realize that until I went in there. Some of the nicer demons were quite delighted to see me. I made sure to warn those ones of course."

"There is a door," Genkai commented dryly. Kagome tilted her head for a moment and gazed at said door thoughtfully. "I know. I went out through it."

She seemed a bit puzzled and Kuronue moved his eyes slightly toward the window, his wings shifting the tiniest fraction of an inch. Only two even noticed his gaze lifting toward it. One was Kurama, and he also noticed in surprise, that Kagome had noticed the subtle body language as well. She blushed in realization as she glanced at the window. "Sorry. Habit."

Everyone except Kuronue raised his or her eyebrows up at that statement as the miko turned around to hurriedly shut the window. He grinned a bit at them before motioning the miko to the spot next to him. "Have fun?"

"It was nice enough," Kagome replied cautiously. She didn't want to say she enjoyed the battles and the adrenaline, that she enjoyed fighting first before she actually killed them. It made her sound a bit crazy. But since she was fifteen there had always been a bit of violence around her. Now, it seems she needed it to calm down. Kuronue had realized that. But the others around them didn't know her. It felt so like home when she went out and hunted in that forest she was surprised she hadn't curled up and started sobbing. She hadn't done that yet. She was sure she would eventually.

"Surprised you're alive," The toushin grumbled and Kagome looked at him sharply as she stood beside Kuronue.

"And who are you to judge what I'd live through?" Kuronue stifled a sigh as Kagome seemed to bristle. She hated being seen as weak. She despised it with a passion. Sesshoumaru had done nothing but enforce her hatred of it. He hadn't thought her weak in powers. He had thought she was weak minded and easily manipulated, as well as Kuronue. He was sure she would choose for them to show Sesshoumaru they were not pushovers in any way, shape, or form.

"I'm Yusuke Urameshi." He spoke as if it should mean something. They did know about Spirit Detectives, didn't they? Kagome's eyes and slight hesitation gave her away before she lifted her chin and watched his sudden smirk with the coldest glare she could muster, her face going blank as she said coolly, "And?"

She knew it sounded and looked more like Kikyou than she had ever wanted. But sometimes Kikyou had been a bit scary when she was calm, and Kagome learned that if she pushed back all that innocence she radiated most of the time, she could look that scary, though she knew she could never match the coldness her incarnate had radiated in her dead body.

As the toushin began to get angry as well, Kuronue glanced sidelong at Genkai. She was watching the confrontation, as was Yukina, one with avid interest, the other with worry. There would be no help from that quarter.

"I think I have every right to think a girl who paled at our former names probably didn't have much to back her up," Yusuke snapped. Kagome stared for a long moment before Kuronue's eyes widened as he saw the slight tensing in her legs and shoulders. He was an instant too late as she leapt for the toushin. Suddenly the room was a blur as Kagome unleashed her aura and the demons realized the forest had not been a fluke, she really did have that much power. Genkai rose and backed Yukina from the room as the boys circled the miko warily. She was now where Yusuke had been an instant before.

"Damn it," Kuronue hissed. The threat levels in the room had suddenly risen more than he would have liked, and Kagome's eyes were dancing in that special way that he always marked as sort of suicidal. It was when she saw challenges she knew were above her... and still went for them.

"How about we all stop now," The bat said cautiously, creeping slowly between Kagome and the three. Kagome actually glared at his back but her mouth snapped shut from the comment she was about to make when he turned around and sneered at her, the contempt for her little show being shown only to her. He wouldn't show the others he was angry at her rather childish move. He only said one word. "Souta."

Kagome's battle ready ki flashing about the room vanished and suddenly she was staring at the floor quietly, rather subdued suddenly. She had been rather stupid. She couldn't be thinking of fighting these people when she had a brother left behind. A brother who didn't know how to use his powers well at all yet. He needed training. He needed saving. Who would do it if not her?

"If you'll excuse me," She managed to mumble before brushing past her friend and heading toward the door. Another male blocked the way and she sucked in a breath, feeling her shoulders shake a bit. She needed out of this room now. She had cried in front of people enough for one time. Now she wanted to go cry for her own guilt and her brother left behind with evil murdering creatures who had managed to manipulate her until she had thought she had lost who she was. She almost had.

"You think you can just go after that! Like hell! You just threatened _us_!" She stiffened. She'd done no such thing! Not in words anyway. There was another now, this time softly growling as he protected her. "Leave her alone. What, did you want a fight?"

It was evident by the sudden silence that yes, that was exactly what he wanted and Kagome had a sudden flash of insight that she wasn't the only one using fights to get rid of stress. She wondered briefly what he was stressed at before she was suddenly angry. Had he purposefully set her off? Picked a fight?

Guilt, grief, and rage all hummed through the air and she passed by both Kuronue and Yusuke, taking satisfaction in the fact that Yusuke was suddenly yelping in pain when he extended a hand to stop her. She would not be manipulated.

Her rage lasted all of two minutes until she reached the room they had been given for the night and the Shikon no Tama around her neck seemed suddenly heavier. She had been so blind to her duty, to the jewel, her brother, and so many other things. She was still blind.

She was beginning to think there had never been a time when she hadn't been blind.

* * *

End Chapter 1

There will be Makai scenes soon, don't worry. Unfortunately, they probably won't answer your questions. Also, many of you I didn't respond to personally because I can't answer your questions without giving things away. Any other story, I would have.

Thank you to Yusuke's Angel, Teen15, Katzztar, C4n4di4nG1r1535, FoxylilRaven, MysteryLady-TX, and Kill-all-flamers210

Winged Knight: grins It "seems" a lot of things, doesn't it? But, Sesshoumaru is evil, yes. You have no idea how fun it is to read reviews and know I seem to be confusing people. Especially with Kuronue and Kagome.

Kura-kun's-lovr: Good! It's supposed to make you wonder! pleased Thanks for the compliments, sorry I can't answer your questions. If I answer about pairings then everyone will know and I do love at least some of them to be surprised.


	3. Chapter 2

Title: Trust  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
Author's Notes: This needs more editing. I know it does, but every time I attempt to read through it I get distracted, so I'm just going to post it. Bad author.

* * *

Chapter 2 - Strategy

Soft blue flames licked at the bodies and the smell of burning flesh rose in the air. There was one demon left, a blue, scaled creature with green hair, shrieking and speaking gibberish. The killer understood what he was saying. He wanted to plead for his life. He offered riches, power, anything the killer wanted!

Cold eyes stared the demon. "Spare you? I have done many horrible things in my life, but that would be one of the worst, as well as the stupidest."

There was no fire this time. Instead, sharp claws dug into hard skin and furiously rent flesh until the demon had reached the nucleus. With a few more sharp strokes, that was destroyed and the demon was dead, his entrails spilled upon the ground. The kitsune killer calmly bathed his paws with his tongue before tilting his head and staring back at the place he unfortunately called home. "I think it's my turn to feed the prisoner."

Leaving the cooling flesh there for others to find, Shippo was quick to get back to the castle, pausing only to clean himself up a bit more. The kitsune knew how sensitive humans were sometimes, and he didn't want to frighten the girl. The same way he kept Souta from him when he hunted like he just had. It was bad enough he couldn't kill the worst of them, but he made the others pay for that fact. The other demon collections of Makai that made evil plans, those that washed themselves in the darkest part of the darkness.

Kagome knew what he did sometimes. It had been her and Souta who kept him from only being the demon who hunted. Without them to believe he had good inside, even with Kagome seeing the darkness, he would be lost. Or possibly dead from attempting to kill the only two he knew he could not.

Sesshoumaru was S class now and he would protect Kagura. Shippo was, perhaps at the most, at the bottom of the S rank. More likely at the top of the A rank. Reikai ranks, but things seeped out eventually, especially to ones as influential as Sesshoumaru.

The kitsune growled at the guards outside the cell they had put the girl in and they moved aside. No words were exchanged. None needed to be. Even they could smell the air of death around him.

The tray of food waiting in the kitchens was too bland for his liking, but apparently humans liked the stuff. So, he went in with the tray and wrinkled his nose in disgust at what he saw. He would definitely have to do something about this. Sesshoumaru didn't care if she had the best room or the worst room as long as "the descendant" was alive when it was time. Shippo cared. He had been taught to care long ago, and retaught to care. This room needed fixing up.

The girl sat on the bed, huddled with her knees to her chest. A young woman really, maybe eighteen or nineteen human years. She didn't have Rin's beautiful hair, but she had her eyes. With a pain, Shippo remembered the young woman who had graced their lives so shortly.

The bed was barely that, more like a cot, and the floor was wet and grimy from being on a lower ground level of a castle. An hour of work with regular labor could have it fixed up. A few minutes with the right demons and it would be better than fixed up. But for now, she needed food.

When he came close, the girl shifted away and he smelled the spike of fear in her scent and saw the tremble of her shoulders. There were other smells, demon smells, on her clothes and parts of her body, but fortunately not all over. He would have to threaten people now. If they had dared to more the play a little, he would have killed them. Rin's legacy was not to be defiled. Especially when he could still smell the purity on her.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Or touch you, not like they did." He growled when she didn't moved, staring up at him with those familiar brown eyes, pleading that he wouldn't hurt her. "I'll make sure they don't do it again."

Apparently, the threat to the ones who had touched her worked. She unfolded slightly and he held the tray toward her. She took it and he sat back. "You're going to watch me eat?"

Ah, she could speak. Despite the generations, the confused question still sounded faintly of Rin. Or perhaps that was his imagination and longing getting the best of him. "I have to make sure you eat it all, and that you don't attempt to kill yourself with any of it, or make weapons from it."

"From this? How could you make weapons from this?" She seemed incredulous and Shippo's eyes showed dark amusement at her naiveté.

"I can thing of twenty-three ways off the top of my head. I can probably come with more as well." Her expression wrinkled and Shippo's amusement faded.

"I'm sorry we had to kidnap you. But Sesshoumaru needed one of Rin's descendants. I still know her smell even now. He would have killed Souta if I hadn't gotten you, you see. But, if we're lucky, he won't kill you when he's done with you." Shippo avoided her startled gaze as it sunk in again that he should be, in her eyes, one of the bad guys.

He didn't mention she'd never be free, and that even if Sesshoumaru did order against her death, she would wish he had killed her. Even Shippo wasn't quick enough if he wasn't nearby. When the ceremony began, he would be as far away as he could be, unless Kagome was back. She wouldn't be in time. She had no idea they were so close, that it was only days away. But, if he was lucky, he could sneak Souta out when it began.

"I just wanna go home." Oh. Shit. She was going to cry. Shippo's eyes widened again and he closed the distance between them hurriedly. "Don't do that. Please, don't do that."

The kitsune's hovered near but didn't touch. He used every ounce of skill to radiate soothing vibes that had the girl relaxing and he dared to pat her hand gently. He did no more, remembering what he had said before. "Don't cry. It won't do you any good. It never does, you see."

The girl's brown eyes darted to his in confusion and for a single instant he let another being see how trapped he was. Then his facade dropped into place and he bowed with old world grace as he backed out of the cell. "I will get this place fixed up for you."

"Wait! Don't go!" Desperate for the only contact she'd had in days, the girl sprang forward. "You have to watch me eat my food!"

She was grasping at straws. "I break rules when I want to."

"Please. It's... No one says anything. And they... They just look and touch and say nothing. Please, don't leave me alone here." Brown eyes, soft warm, brown eyes that reminded him of Rin, the girl who was his but never could be. Kohaku's, she was. But not this one.

His eyes darkened slightly as he stared at her before he closed his eyes to her, and her familiar-yet-not voice. He would try. She might have someone at home, and maybe someone had managed to get to her parents in time to save them. He would try.

He gave a single nod to her, confusing her but giving her hope before all she saw was his golden tail as he turned and left the cell. He wasn't surprised to see the only other human within miles outside waiting for him.

"We're helping her?"

They were already walking; the guards were out of hearing distance, presumably. "I'm helping her. You're helping yourself."

"Sesshoumaru will catch us." Souta 's brown eyes were regarding him calmly and Shippo's heart bled for the loss of innocence he sensed in the boy.

"He will catch me. You will take a route he does not know about. If I am not with you, he will only send a few demons. The rest will be after the girl and me. Kill the ones who come after you." Shippo went straight to the point. His gaze strayed from the boy who quivered in shock. The denial would be quick in coming.

"No! Either we both make it out or neither of us does! I'm not powerful; I'm just a kid! What help could I be if I make if I make it to Ningenkai and somehow find Kagome? You're the one she needs. You three can handle anything, even Sesshoumaru, I know you can!" Souta was scrabbling for reasons and his hands went out pleadingly for the kitsune. Shippo avoided his grasp. Not only to show his resolve, but because in his emotional turmoil Souta's purifying energy was flickering around those grasping hands.

"But if Sesshoumaru opens the room, we will not a lot more than ourselves. Especially since he has learned how to unseal... that one." He stopped suddenly and gripped the teenage human's shoulder, ignoring the burning sensation. "Look."

Souta forced himself to look ahead. There it was. The hallway opened into a round chamber and at the other end was a simple looking brown door. Sesshoumaru had once attempted to destroy the whole castle just to get into that room. It hadn't work. The whole thing was covered in blood magic. Rin's blood magic. She had told Sesshoumaru that only her blood could open it again. In a fit of rage that she had done such a thing against him, that his precious girl would disobey him and refuse to open it, he had acted instinctually.

Shippo had even been near them at the time, he and Kohaku both. They had been sparring. Once, their sparring had been more violent, before Rin had chosen. But then, with Kohaku and Rin's two tiny children looking on, playing with one of their older cousins, their sparring had been simple, even elegant. Shippo, despite the fact he had to see Rin with Kohaku, had been content. He had even been seeking Souten out and the two had been talking. None of the killer he would become was there. The potential was there, the youkai blood in his veins sometimes pounded so desperately that he had to leave his extended family to soothe it.

That day, with Rin's blood assaulting his nostrils, he had done the unthinkable. Kohaku had fallen by her side in grief. Shippo was youkai. Grief could come later for him. Revenge came first. He had thrown himself at a taiyoukai that had looked almost as grieved as Kohaku, and guilt was in his normally expressionless eyes. Shippo hadn't cared.

Shippo closed his eyes against the memories. In some ways, that fight he had forced Sesshoumaru to have had driven them both to become who they now were. Not that anything could have stopped them. Sesshoumaru was already slipping into the cold, beckoning darkness, and Kagura's whispers in his ear of control and power had urged him to slip further. Rin had tried to prevent Sesshoumaru from falling. Instead, her death had caused Sesshoumaru to plummet downward and for Shippo to slip into the shadows.

"That's the room," Souta whispered. It wasn't a question. There were bloodstains that had never been washed out on the floor. It was rare anyone had ever come here. Kagome had come here twice. The first time she had come to the spot Rin had died and screamed. Needless to say, Shippo was a bit wary of letting Souta walk any closer. He suspected their was a good reason Kagome had screamed and fainted, and if he was correct, he didn't want the boy who still clung to a few bits of innocence to step toward it.

It didn't matter what he felt. Souta was walking toward it anyway. "Souta. It is. You don't need to-"

"I think I do. You and Sis knew her, and are so pained by it, but I never met her. I need to see what she did." Souta actually skirted the red tinge of the floor and instead walked to the door, his hand outstretched. The door hummed at his touch and Shippo frozen. Souta froze as well. "That's... not the normal reaction."

Souta tried the doorknob. It wouldn't budge, but it didn't throw him to the other side of the room as Shippo had seen it do to many others. It was odd. Shippo didn't worry about it now, because Souta looked thoughtful and was coming back. Straight back. Without skirting the blood.

The protest died on Shippo's lips and he muttered, "Oh shit" as he saw the boy freeze. It was too late to stop the tortured scream that rose from Souta's body, but there was a russet blur and then Souta was writhing in the doorway, Shippo's hand over his mouth keeping the horrible noises from tearing out of him. Shippo held him for the few agonizing moments before the boy collapsed in his arms.

His steps were jerky and there must have been something in his eyes because everyone jumped out of his way. A few even ran in the opposite direction as he walked to put the boy to bed.

Only a few ever went to that spot. Kagome and Souta weren't the only ones to have a reaction, but there's was strongest. If they felt it that clearly when they weren't even of Rin's blood...

Shippo's imagination provided him a perfect vision of the young human female down in the cells screaming hoarsely as the one killing her in her imagination bled her in reality. She would kick and scream at something that didn't exist... but would also be all too real.

The kitsune left that castle and left a trail of agony in his wake. The dying screams of demons lit up the night, and it was hours before he returned, calm enough once again to come within smelling distance of that murdering scum. He would find a way to kill him. Even if it killed him in the process.

* * *

She could feel eyes on her again. Every time she went into the forest to mediate or even kill a couple of demons, eyes followed her. Mocking, challenging brown eyes. Eyes that only became angrier as she ignored them. Good. A little anger did a soul good.

Was she a challenge to him? Kagome didn't know. She just knew he seemed to be waiting for her to respond. Except, for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what she should be responding _to_. He hadn't said anything to her since the day she singed his fingers. Of course, that could be because she avoided them all like the plague and was even glaring at Kuronue these days. She just wanted to train as best she could, come up with a plan, and then rescue her baby brother and son while making sure Sesshoumaru's plan could never come into fruition.

She was training, and a lot. But then there was this boy who thought staring at her was a way of communication. So, finally fed up, she turned and stared back at him for a while. She had lasted about two days so far. He lasted a good thirty seconds. "What?"

She almost grinned at the snap in his voice. But she held it in, knowing he would take it the wrong way. But it was a bit funny, the way he twitched at her silent and blank gaze. "You were staring at me. I stared back."

"I was waiting," He said firmly. She raised an eyebrow, a gesture that indicated he should continue. At his confused stare she let her eyes roll in exasperation. "For?"

She almost did laugh as he looked shocked. What, did he think she was a mind reader? She should have laughed. It would have spoke of stability and sanity. Except she wasn't sure she had either of those right now and she was pretty sure laughing right now would end in her crying and Kuronue being relieved she could still cry. Dumb bat. He just missed her first crying session, that was all.

"We almost fought before. Don't you want to finish it?" Kagome stared and closed her eyes at the slightly hurt expression. She was not going to laugh. This was not funny. It wasn't. He wanted to fight her. She already knew who would win, and she was sure he did too. But she was something new. And... She was something dangerous. He wanted to make sure she knew he was in control.

Her good mood evaporated. Whether he was consciously thinking it or not, she was sure that's what it was. Everything was always about control. She opened her eyes and stared at him with carefully blank eyes. "I don't have any time or energy to waste. I need to train and come up with a plan. I don't see fighting you helping me with any of those. We both know you're stronger than me. There is no need to prove it, so drop the macho stuff, stop staring at me, and leave me alone."

Kagome winced. Maybe she had gone a bit far. His eyes were smoldering angrily now and Kagome hoped he didn't notice how white knuckled she'd gone suddenly.

"Excuse me? Why don't you fucking repeat that?" She was feeling stubborn. She was feeling irrationally stubborn and she knew she should look away and let him stand there glaring at her and not meet his gaze with her equally angry one.

"I'm sorry. I don't think I said what I meant." She took a breath and almost smiled at the spark of wariness in his eyes. "I meant to say I don't need any wannabe alpha males interrupting my training. Why don't you go find a wet-nurse to soothe your injured pride? I have more important things to do than fight you, and I don't want to waste any more breath on you."

She couldn't imagine why Kuronue thought she was a bit suicidal sometimes. But she had turned her back at the end of her rant and was proceeding to sit down and try to meditate anyway. The part of her wondering what the hell she had just done that for figured it would be less than a second before the toushin decided he was going to fight her anyway.

"Get up." She was wrong. It had been more than a second.

"No, I don't think I will." Kagome quivered a bit inwardly. She kept her expression smooth and her eyes closed calmly. She tried to think of calming things. A babbling brook. A recently destroyed demon. Kuronue ripping into her for being a moron. The last one wasn't calming, but it was normal, which could amount to the same thing.

Then there was a hand fisted in her shirt and she was being pulled up. Her eyes opened wide and she found herself looking into enraged chocolate eyes. "What the fuck is your problem? For someone who doesn't want to fight, you seem to be saying a lot of shit."

"Let me down please, and leave me alone." Somehow her voice managed not to shake as his ki rose. Strange mix, that, youki and reiki both. If she wasn't frightened she would have been fascinated.

"I don't think so. You..." he trailed off into incoherent rage and Kagome flinched. There was too much energy around her, but she didn't dare let her own swamp the area for fear he would take as an acceptance to his challenge and her cantankerous nature remained. She refused to give him that satisfaction.

She felt him shake her and couldn't help but clutch at his arm. That was going to make her dizzy. He was shouting and yelling again but her mind was unfocused. Souta... She couldn't help but think something was wrong with Souta.

"I think I'm dizzy," She muttered and the boy stopped to stare at her in disbelief. Thank kami. That at least helped her normal senses. Now if only he could tune down the youki, she'd be all set.

"Can I go back to meditating now?" She should have known not to push. But suddenly she was slammed into the ground and there was a boy looming over her now probably bruised body.

"NO! You're going to tell me what the hell your problem is and why you're here and who you two are so dead set on killing!" Had Kuronue told them all that? Or perhaps he was more perceptive than she gave him credit for. Now another puzzle piece fell into place. Besides the control issue, he was dying of curiosity.

"Don't know, safe haven, friends who betrayed us," Kagome muttered, half in a daze. She wasn't as surprised as she could have been when his ki flashed about her, but this time he wasn't holding her and she let a barrier form around her, sighing a bit in relief.

"Excuse me, but perhaps it would be better if you stepped away from the girl for a few moments, Yusuke." Both turned their heads, Kagome awkwardly, to see Kurama and an angry Kuronue standing to one side. They had been spending time in each other's company recently, and apparently they had been coming back from one of their talks to see the sort of fight that was going on.

Kuronue stomped forward when Yusuke stepped away warily. His right hand dropped down and Kagome dropped the shield hurriedly before she could hurt him and he pulled her up and dragged her off to the edge of the murky clearing she had been meditating in. Kurama stepped forward with a tight, grim expression on his face and folded his arms as he stared at Yusuke expectantly.

Kuronue stopped when Kagome yanked her arm from his grip. "Stop manhandling me Kuronue, I can walk by myself."

"You can apparently get in stupid trouble by yourself as well! What are you doing?" Kuronue's indigo eyes glared at her blue-gray ones and Kagome bit off her first reply and took a long, calming breath. Kuronue had not seen what happened. Kagome would not snap at him. She wouldn't. It would just be rude.

"I wasn't doing anything. Mister Temper there has been staring at me since we came here and he's the one who wanted to fight! He already knows I'd lose and I saw no reason to get into an useless fight that would only waste energy. Go tell him to leave me alone, but don't even try to blame me." Kagome felt her temper rise when Kuronue's accusing expression didn't change. "At least I'm trying to train and plan. What have you been doing, Kuronue? Talking to your little kitsune pal?"

"I don't suppose it ever occurred to you that they could help us?" Kuronue's cool voice snapped the last bit of calm on Kagome's mind and the bat stumbled back when the usually tightly controlled miko let power flood in waves from her.

"It's none of their business! NO! It _didn't _occur to me, because it's our fight! If we can't handle it, they can take the job over my dead body!" Kagome glared, trying to keep the frustrated tears out of her eyes. "My former friends, _my_ enemies, **_my_** family. I won't have other people keeping me from my fights again. If you want to hang around, fine. I'll do it without you, bat!"

Kagome turned and stomped back an astonished kitsune and toushin who had found it impossible to miss the miko lighting up like a nuclear bomb. She was already by them and she was no longer looking when the guilt flashed across the majin's face and Kuronue closed his eyes regretfully. He knew he should have waited and given her hints first and approached it carefully. Sometimes, Kagome was a bit too emotional about things.

"Is there a reason she was on the ground when we came on the scene, Yusuke?" Kurama asked mildly after the miko had disappeared inside.

"She provoked me," The toushin muttered defensively. It was true in a roundabout way. It could also be said he had provoked her into provoking him. But Yusuke would never admit to that.

"So you weren't standing here and staring at her, willing her to get up and challenge you again? No one here is stupid enough to believe that. You're still angry that she even managed to singe your fingers a bit. Just let her be. They'll be going eventually, and I for one want to help them. But if her anger at you extends to me by default, even Kuronue's sway on her won't be enough." The kitsune stared intently at Yusuke.

"Why? Why do you want to help them?" Yusuke let his anger fade in exchange for feeling his curiosity rise. If Kurama wanted to fight with them, it must be something dangerous. The kitsune didn't just fight for anything.

"I want to find the one who had enough of _something, _whether compassion or curiosity,to save Kuronue and then later betray not only him, but all the morals and ethics those two thought their enemies held close. I also want to stop a possible threat to all the worlds before it has a chance to become that threat." Yusuke's surprise was evident.

"A threat to all three worlds? I thought this was all a revenge thing." Neither seemed to notice that the bat youkai was still there and had come close enough to hear their conversation.

"It is. The betrayal was not only of us, but also of someone else long ago. I never knew of the first, and it took Kagome much of the time to realize what was going on and what had happened. But Kurama is right. Sesshoumaru has become power hungry and if his plans succeeded, he will have the power to do whatever he wishes. And I doubt he'll use it for world peace. Perhaps to cut down all those he finds unworthy, but never for peace." The bat spoke with a quiet intensity and the two former teammates could feel the underlying hurt and hatred in his words.

"So? Why the fuck didn't you just ask us for help? We could take care of it no problem and its not like we'd be unwilling if this guy is as much of a powerful bastard as you say he is." Yusuke stuffed his hands into his pockets and cocked an eyebrow at the bat, feeling more relaxed without the miko there. Something about her just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Because Kagome's right. It's our fight first. I know she is, but... We'll probably die, and I don't want to see her die. She's young, and her life span could be so much longer. Especially... Well, it's just unfair. Sure, she and Sesshoumaru would probably kill each other if they're both at full power. Even if one comes out alive... they'd be torn down by anyone left over. You see, Sesshoumaru's people aren't loyal, just afraid, and power hungry themselves. But it's our problem. Our blame, and our guilt. We'll deal with it or die trying. You can pick up the pieces when we're gone if you want. It won't be any of our concern then, will it?"

Kuronue's shoulders were slumped and his wings were curled forward almost protectively. For the first time, Kurama could see his eyes looking vulnerable for once. Even for a five-century year old demon, Kuronue looked... tired. Kurama was at least twice his age, or part of him was, and he couldn't remember ever feeling as old as Kuronue seemed to feel.

"That's fucking stupid," Yusuke bit off bluntly. The bat switched an amused gaze to him. "Perhaps. Now excuse me, I think I'll go risk being purified by my best friend and see if even oden will calm her down now."

Both stared at the bat's back as he retreated before Yusuke's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Oden, huh?"

* * *

Sesshoumaru glanced down at the dead body of the newest bearer of bad news. Apparently no one had ever mentioned that quaint little "Don't shoot the messenger" saying to this demon. No one would have bothered Sesshoumaru with something so trivial.

"What is it this time?" The dog demon turned to Kagura with blank, narrowed eyes. They had become mates so long ago, but the feelings, if they had ever existed, had turned to ashes inside. Now there was only lust and the continued alliance between them. And the need he seemed to have to keep anyone who had known his precious traitor of an innocent daughter before she died.

"The kitsune and the boy are attempting to steal the girl from us. They've split up, obviously hoping I'll split my forces accordingly. I will not. Souta is no challenge. I will send a few low class demons after him. The rest will go after _him_. He may be powerful, but even numbers can get him down. And the wolf is with them. He is a match for the kitsune, if just barely." Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to a nearby open window and raised his nose slightly, his nostrils flaring. The scent was still in the air.

"Will you have him killed? It might be better. I don't trust the kitsune around any of our eventual heirs." Kagura was not at the correct angle to see the sneer on Sesshoumaru's face. They would never have heirs. He had made sure of that. They were still perfectly fertile... as long as they stopped eating the specially prepared food he had made for them. He wanted an heir eventually. But it would be a purebred dog demon from the strongest of the old lines he could find. His heirs wouldn't be from the daughter of a mongrel hanyou.

"No. Without Shippo, Souta will not be so accommodating. If the boy somehow escapes, then at least we still have one bargaining chip if she comes around. I will not have her interfering." Sesshoumaru wouldn't have anyone interfering. Once the room was open, they could all come. Every enemy he had could come swarming to him and every one would be nothing compared to his power.

"If you say so. I doubt she will. She does have some intelligence." Kagura glared coolly at her mate's back as she spoke. Her lips smiled almost sweetly, in a perverse and seductive way, but her eyes told another story. She knew by now what he did. How he regulated not only their relationship, but also any other she could have. She had managed to get pregnant once, but it was by another dog demon, not him. How he found out when she had done her best to cover her scent, she didn't know.

Ever since that thrice-damned human daughter-pet had died he sometimes seemed a heartless murderer, and sometimes insane with guilt. Now there was the obsession with the miko. She could not hope to touch them. When she was angry, her power was certainly formidable. Enough to kill Sesshoumaru perhaps. But she would never live past that. Why would anyone risk that?

"You forget, she does not always use that intelligence. Her emotions guide her all too often. She is uncontrolled, unpredictable, overemotional, and she lets those same emotions blind her. This makes her more dangerous than most of our demon opponents, and even other human ones. She is not out for power. She is out for revenge, and she is out to protect those she cares about. It may have been five hundred years, but surely you remember what happened to Naraku?" The slight smirk on his face told her he remembered it perfectly - and enjoyed the memory as well.

"I remember." The reply was cold and aloof and Kagura turned on her heel and almost left the room. She halted in the doorway and shot over her shoulder, "Not that it was in time. They both were still dead weren't they?"

Her exit was swift but it turned out she wasn't swift enough to outrun the smashing sound that was echoed by a growl as the desk Sesshoumaru had in that room promptly disintegrated under the dog demon's claws.

* * *

Please review you guys, I want to know what you think of all of this, and any guesses on things you have so I can see if it's too obvious or not obvious enough. Also, if anyone has questions that wouldn't make me give away to plot, feel free to review and ask the question and then ask me to e-mail the answer. Faster that way.

Thanks to Foxylilraven, Sukera, and Dark Inu Fan for reviewing.

inu.: If this was a story I was allowing people to be inserted in, you would know. And besides, you wouldn't want to be in this if you knew what I was going to do with this story. OCs are no different from the rest of the characters and can go through the same stress, hurt, and betrayals. So no, you can't.

Winged Knight: Obviously Kuronue realized it, but Kagome has some pretty strong opinions on the subject. And who doesn't train a bit over five hundred years? But Yusuke still would be stronger if it was simply Sesshoumaru as he is at this moment in time. Kagome didn't use much of a trick, more that she was just really angry. But Yusuke is being watchful of that now. Sort of. As for Kuronue, they never actually say what he is. Bat and raven are the most common. I go more for bat because of his wing shape and his ears. But, his name translates to a type of bird, crane of heron or something. I'm not sure where the raven comes from. Personally, if I assigned him a bird, I'd call him a magpie. Magpies are known as thieves. Ravens are either noble or evil symbolism wise. I have never yet found any actual proof toward either theory.


	4. Chapter 3

Title: Trust  
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.  
Author's Notes: Spoilers of the whys and hows of Yusuke being a majin. And, also, spoilers here: A majin, people, is, in YYH, a human who has turned into a demon, due to a recessive gene from a demon ancestor. There's a nice essay with tons of information done by a fellow author on my Yus/Kag group. If someone wants the information, but can't be bothered to join even for a few minutes to download it, I can e-mail it to anyone who asks.

* * *

Chapter 3 - Shattered

It had been a long chase, a longer chase than the pursuers had thought. The human boy must have had practice running. Still, once they caught up to him, the three low class demons sent after him were confident that their job was done and it would be a simple thing to drag him back to the castle. That was, they were confident until the boy began to glow.

"This wasn't mentioned," A wolf demoness hissed to the two elementals in front of her. The two males didn't bother replying, the self-designated leader of the three stepping forward with a patronizing smile.

"Really boy, just because you have a bit of power doesn't mean you can beat us. Sesshoumaru isn't stupid, he wouldn't have sent us if we couldn't defeat you." The head demon stepped forward, silver eyes gleaming maliciously at the teenager.

Souta didn't answer in words. He lashed out with his right fist, the blue glow around it striking the demon and spreading. There was a shriek as the demon turned to ashes. Souta shifted back into what was now obviously a defensive position and tried not to show how even destroying one low class demon without using a conductor for his energy drained his energy.

"Pathetic human scum! How dare you!" Before the female demon could stop her companion, the blue haired ice elemental launched himself forward. This time the boy rolled to one side away from the ice flying toward him ahead of the demon. The wolf noted a wince and grinned as the smell of blood hit the air. Perhaps they had underestimated him, but not anymore.

Souta reached frantically around on the ground until his hand hit a stick. It was, unfortunately, not totally dead and still held a bit of demon energy and purified beneath his hand. It was a bit useless to try again, so Souta resigned himself to using more of his energy as he kicked out, trying to control the flow of power this time, like Kagome and Shippo had been attempting to teach him before.

The demon was hit in the face as he had been coming near to do the boy more damage, and screamed in anguish as his face burned with sudden intensity. The ice demon scraped at his face, attempting to cool off the burning sensation that wasn't from fire.

Souta's lips quirked up in satisfaction before he screamed as a clawed hand sliced down his back. His legs were kicked out from under him and the mystically powered boy scrambled away, trying to stand only for a foot to slam into his ribs and send him flying. "Stay down, kid. Smart, aren't you? Better than even Sesshoumaru knew."

Souta glared up at her as the wolf came to stand over him. Impassive green eyes stared down at him. "Don't give me that look boy. If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead. And if I was bringing you back, you'd be unconscious, not just bleeding."

His mind wasn't working properly it seemed, because Souta couldn't fathom any reason he would be bleeding besides either of those two. The boy gathered his energy inside him and channeled it to his hands, lunging toward her desperately. When she moved faster than he could see and held his hands behind his back, keeping her own hands away from his palms, he realized something. "You're not low class. You have to be a B class at least."

"Good. Very good. But no one knows that. Well, maybe Grandmother, but no one ever knows what she really knows anymore. She likes to pretend to be crazy now." She paused and he rolled his eyes at her sigh of disappointment. "Is this a family thing? Do all of you have to be so god damn stubborn? You could at least pretend to be interested. Here, while icey writhes in pain over there - good job, by the way - how about we discuss a deal."

Souta turned his head warily. "What kind of deal?"

The demoness slowly let herself give into a smirk. "One that will be beneficial to both of us - and get you to your sister and hopefully save all of our kami forsaken existences. Interested?"

Souta jerked his arms away when she loosened her grip and turned to glare at her, reluctantly saying, "Let's hear this deal."

* * *

Kagome's eyes had been half closed in semi-exhaustion as she stumbled back to the building they were using as a safe haven. Another day of meditating and then training. She knew she shouldn't have exhausted herself but after the whole thing with that majin yesterday and Kuronue using oden as a way to get back in her good graces she needed to exhaust herself. The oden part hadn't been bad. It was that after getting back in her good graces he had attempted to speak of staying in Genkai's home for a couple of weeks while they trained. There was no hurry to him.

Her eyes opened wide suddenly as the tantalizing odor of her favorite food teased the air around her. She didn't have enough energy to be suspicious of why it was being made or by whom. Kagome knew there was oden nearby and she was hungry. Her favorite food always managed to relieve her just a little. It smelled like a home she could never have again. It smelled of her childhood and teasing fight and that first night back from the feudal era when Inuyasha had come to get her for the first time. Most of all, it smelled _nice_.

She was in the door and staring at the pot of oden before she realized that her hand was reaching toward the doorknob. When her hands reached for the pot and one of the two bowls there, a familiar and annoyingly smug voice taunted her. "Hey now, who said I was sharing?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed dangerously. Him again. "Yusuke."

"Amazing, you _do _know my name." The pot was moved away from her hands when she reached forward slowly. "I didn't give you permission."

On the one hand, he was being annoying and attempting to be clever. It would do him a wealth of good if she deflated his ego a bit by refusing to play. On the other hand, Kagome was hungry. And she _really _liked oden.

"What do you want?" She was too tired to argue with him today. He sat down on the other side of the table and started spooning oden into his bowl. She glared at him in exasperation. She might as well just leave if he was going to be like this.

"What did they do? These people who betrayed you? And you can sit down. Have some oden." The toushin looked entirely too triumphant when she actually did sit down and began putting oden into her bowl.

She ate a mouthful of the oden and gazed at the young demon thoughtfully. Had he made this? She shook her head before considering the question. She was sure Kuronue would eventually tell Kurama anyway, so he would learn eventually. "A few things. They had lied to us, been using us, and basically planned to kill us once their plans were complete. Another friend knew of this, but it was hard for him to tell us without someone watching. When we finally did figure it out, things blew up and we had to run. I at least was too shocked to do more than stare at the time anyway."

Her smile was bitter as she remembered her heart shattering in her chest. Only Kuronue's hands pushing her along had kept her moving. She had trusted him, and all of them, so much. "And you, majin? All I've heard are _their _obviously biased stories. I know what you are, a human who became a demon, but not how or why, and why you can still use reiki."

"Hey, this is my interrogation!" He protested. But right now he was unwilling to really break the good mood the strange girl was in. She was usually either snapping icily at him or blowing up in their faces. If she wasn't fighting him every step, he was bound to get more information about this threat in the long run. "I died. Again. Turns out millennia back I had an ancestor who fell in love with a human. My ancestor passed down an S-gene into his descendants who were all human. They all had passive S-genes. Mine was active, so he was able to wake me up again. I was just a bit different. I was a demon. As for using reiki... I just can. It's part of what I was."

Kagome was pretty sure that was actually the condensed version and that there was more to it than that, but he _had _answered her question. So she sat back and took another bite of oden. She knew eventually he'd get to questions she didn't want to answer and if it had been a few hours previous she would have been made of angry glances and tense anticipation. Instead she kept a firm grip on her temper actually hummed lightly and off key under her breath while she waited for him to catch up an realize it was his turn to ask a question. Because they were taking turns now. She would make sure of that.

If she had still had enough energy to really be angry, she would have chosen that over oden and this conversation. But she was tired, and he took too much energy to fight with, even in words. Eventually Kuronue wouldn't be there interfering and she was going to get herself hurt, if not by him then by some other demon more powerful than her who she pushed all the wrong buttons on.

"So... What happened to that other person who got betrayed?" Yusuke knew he had hit a nerve when she tensed and the spoon halfway to her mouth lowered slowly. She licked her lips slowly and stared into her bowl with every appearance of being wholly engrossed in her food.

"She died." The girl stood up suddenly, her bowl of oden left behind as she left the room with nary a glance in his direction. Kagome could feel the startled glance on directed at her back and smiled grimly. She was a bit glad he had asked that question. It had reminded her she didn't have any time to waste socializing with any of these boys.

She had wasted too much when she had hunted for shards in the feudal era. She wouldn't do that again. One hand rose and slid beneath her shirt to grip the simple silver necklace hidden under her shirt, the Shikon no Tama resting gently against her skin. Kuronue was wrong. They could have been his allies, but never hers, not when they found out what she was guarding. All had a bit of darkness about them. Despite his tendencies toward fighting, Yusuke was probably the only one who didn't have flashes of something more.

How ironic that the one she was fighting with the most would be the only one of the bunch she would ever trust with this secret. But not even he would know.

After all, not even Shippo knew she hadn't actually destroyed the Shikon no Tama.

* * *

The great blue bird stared down at the wolf demoness carrying the exhausted human and tilted his head, cooing questioningly. She glanced up and raised an eyebrow. "Guess I'm in the right place. You're that toushin's bird, right? If anyone will know how to find her, they will. Well, they're the best that would be willing in this world, you see? This is Souta."

"I can introduce myself," The boy muttered as he slipped off the demon's back. She shrugged. "Remember to tell your sister what I said. The white wolves are behind her. All of the whites are. Remember that. Every single white."

Souta glanced at her sharply, wondering what hidden meaning the demoness was trying to put in her words. "Sure. When I find her, I'll tell her. Verbatim if I can. But, why can't you? And how can I find her?"

The wolf eyed the kid with a blank expression, inwardly shaking her head. The poor kid needed a bit of leadership right now. One day he would be a leader in his own right, but he needed some guidance now. She wasn't a good guide. " This bird will lead you to some people who can help you. I have to go. There are more places in the human word that have a few demon families holed up than Reikai knows about. Some of them are branches of mine. So, I have to go meet some relatives. Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Souta muttered as she sped off. He turned brown eyes up to the bird that cocked its head before seeming to give a mental shrug. The long sinuous neck reached down and plucked the boy up, turning to place him on the overly large back.

"Hey, wait a second! No, don't do that!" The phoenix like bird spread wide wings and with great sweep of his wings was in the air before Souta could think of slipping off. "Oh kami-sama. I'm going to die. I'm dead. I have to be dead. Too high up."

The bird tried to give him a soothing look but the boy had his head buried in Puu's feathers and it was impossible for him to even meet the boy's eyes when he was like that. Puu circled a few times higher in the air before gliding toward the front of the large piece of property he lived on now. There was another moan from the boy on his back and the bird sent out a loud call as he landed, sure to get a few people out here. He immediately put his head down to Yusuke's level when the toushin appeared.

Yusuke chuckled and patted at the bird's head a bit before Puu himself pulled away to pull something from his back. "What the...? Puu, is that a person?"

The bird made an affirmative sounding coo through the boy's shirt before dropping the startled teen in front of his other side. Two pairs of brown eyes met before the younger one scrambled up from his seat on the ground and settled in a defensive position, despite how much he was swaying and obviously off balance and tired. "Who are you?"

"Hey, you're the one trespassing. Who the hell are you, kid?" Yusuke smirked as the kid flushed a bit guiltily before a strange expression came over his face and he straightened and closed his eyes, frowning. Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "What the hell? Something wrong kid?"

Yusuke could've sworn he heard him mutter, "Kagome...?" before he was shoved aside by a girl he could've sworn was not the same young woman he had been seeing this whole time. "Souta!"

The boy grinned and opened his eyes. An instant later strong arms were around him, squeezing him tightly. He could barely breath, but he didn't care. "Kagome!"

It seemed the only word he could get out now was her name. He felt himself tremble slightly and passed it off. She was alive and well. He wasn't going to cry now that he had found her, no matter how much his eyes stung right now. Kagome had no such qualms. She was sobbing her eyes out and clinging to her brother who was in turn clinging to her. "I'm so glad... I'm so sorry..."

"Souta?" Kuronue gaped from the edge of the forest. Beside him, Kurama jerked his head around to look between them. "Is that the-"

"Souta!" Kurama was interrupted as his friend bolted for the pair and the winged being crashed into them roughly. Somehow they all kept their balance and Kagome and Souta managed to entwine one arm each around the bat youkai. The relief radiating from all three was palpable.

"Someone want to explain? Anytime this century would be just great." Yusuke waited a beat. "Or you could just stand there like a bunch of weeping women."

"I am a weeping woman, stupid," Kagome half sobbed from her place in the collective embrace.

"Well I'm not, so enough hugging of the little brother. We've got to get to what's what, right?" Souta actually bounced slightly on his toes, his eyes gleaming as he backed away from the two. They blushed and also backed off from him and each other.

"And I need a helluva a lot more training. Oh, and we only have a couple of days. Ya see, they've got one of Rin's descendants. Some girl, about your age. I don't know her name, but I think her family is dead. Shippo's still in Makai with her and these white wolves say they're behind you and actually she said all the whites and she seemed to think it was very important that it was _all _so here I am repeating it and I'm so glad you're all right!" Souta bounded forward again to clasp his hands around his sister who still had suspiciously watery eyes.

Yusuke gaped at the three and wondered just what the hell was going on. "Who... What are you...? Fucking hell! I give up! When the world makes sense again, someone come find me! I'll be killing a few mountains!" The majin stomped off, looking more like a petulant child than an angry warrior.

"That was...?" Souta asked after a moment, tilting his head a bit childishly. He couldn't keep his grin off of his face. It continued to grow as his sister ruffled his black hair and smiled down at him. She looked... very happy to see him.

"Urameshi Yusuke. A pain in the ass but probably the best of the lot. The only one who doesn't have that darkness crawling underneath." Souta's eyes widened at the name and even more so at her description. Kuronue huffed impatiently. "I never know what you two are talking about when you do that. Darkness? I never see it."

"You're not us," They said, both grinning impishly at the flicker of anger before he tried to pounce at them. Squealing like small children the three began to play some strange version of tag, each forgetting their own troubles for the moment in the joys of being reunited with another piece of their family. The sunlight danced across the yard and for the first time since this whole mess had begun, Kagome felt that she could just dance right away with it.

And then reality came crashing down around them in the form of two pale-faced humans asking to see Yusuke.

"Kazuma? Shizuru?" Yukina stepped out of the doorway where she had been watching the three take their brief moments of happiness before they were taken again by the worries in their mind. "What's wrong?"

"Uh... Is Urameshi nearby?" Kuwabara fidgeted, his eyes darting away from all of them and stopped for a moment to stare curiously at the bat youkai and two siblings staring right back. "It's kinda important."

There was a slight movement in the branches above and a flash of black as Hiei dropped from the trees. The three outsiders started, unaware of his habit of lurking in trees. "He went for a walk."

Hiei's flat voice seemed to jar something in the two humans and they began moving. Shizuru moved toward the door, and Kuwabara moved toward the forest, set on finding his friend. Souta stared after them and felt a shiver run up his back. Beside him, his sister echoed the feeling and they glanced at each other, the worry echoing in their eyes. Somehow, in ways they couldn't imagine, this tied into there battles. Things had just gotten much worse.

* * *

Shippo nudged the girl into wakefulness and sat back as she began to twitch into the waking world. One leg extended out to lay flat while his other curled up until his knee was almost even with his chin. He gave every impression of being relaxed and carefree instead of tense, angry, and worried.

The girl opened brown eyes and wished she hadn't as she saw an all too familiar ceiling. She glanced around, hiding the hurt in her eyes as she stared at the kitsune sitting there. "You let them capture us."

"I wouldn't say let. I did fight. A couple demons were even shocked so much that a human girl would dare to slap them that they made very easy kills. That was a bit dangerous. If it had been you alone, they would have ripped you to shreds." Shippo was glad he wasn't one of the types of kitsunes with animal ears. They would have given him away by flattening in guilt.

"I..." She stopped and tried again as she sat up, "You didn't seem surprised. It was all a trick, wasn't it? You were just pretending to help me, laughing at me behind the scenes."

The kitsune stiffened at the accusation and she didn't even have time to blink before he was crouched in front of her. Her head jerked back and the tangled strands of brown hair brushed the demon's suddenly furious face. He spoke softly, but with such intense anger that she couldn't help but shiver. "I did expect them to catch us. But the attempt was the best I could have made. I knew they would catch either Souta or us, and that it was more than likely us, but it was not a trick. Do you think the blood I shed protecting you when you fell was for my own amusement? Do you think that I would risk Souta on a simple trick? I am not sadistic enough that I would play such an elaborate trick for giggles, little girl."

He had leaned in until she could feel his breath fanning her face as he spoke in a dark whisper. She was frozen from guilt and fear and barely stuttered out her apology. "I'm s-sorry. I meant no offense."

She breathed a sigh of relief when he backed off to the opposite side of the cell before remembering that out of everyone, this kitsune was the only one to have shown even the slightest hint of kindness toward her. And she had just antagonized him. She was truly alone again. No one but him could help her get back to her life.

She turned to face the wall, hiding the tears trickling from her eyes. She wanted to go home. She didn't want to be here anymore. She didn't want the mocking stares and the knowledge that sooner or later that silver-haired demon was going to come down here and take her to use her for his own nefarious purpose.

Something nudged her elbow and something soft brushed her fingertips. Watery brown eyes darted to look and she gasped in surprise. There was a fox by her side with mottled fur of red and gold. "Hello little guy. How did you get here?"

The fox gave her such a look of utter disbelief that she blushed as she noticed the green eyes. "Oh. Sorry."

Shippo snorted but nudged her hand again. She patted him, idly musing that this was very strange. "Why didn't you stay in you normal form?"

In answer the kitsune turned his head and tugged at his fur. "It's warmer?" He hesitated, and then the head bobbed up and down slightly. "More to it?" Another nod.

"I doubt I'll be able to guess." Shippo seemed to agree as he sat down beside her and curled up, looking much like a cross between a content cat and a happy dog.

"But I kind of am a bit curious." She glanced down, noting for the first time the numerous tails attached to the fox before Shippo gave an annoyed yip and transformed into his normal and much taller self.

"Sesshoumaru has a mystical... Let's call it a net... over this cell and it is preventing me from healing as fast as I normally would. I can heal at an almost normal rate in my fox forms and the small one is the one that actually fits. I only have a couple of days before Sesshoumaru makes his final move and I don't want to be injured at that time." His eyes narrowed and she cringed slightly. "Don't cry anymore. It won't do any good anyway."

So, that was why he had momentarily been trying to comfort her. He simply disliked her crying. She couldn't get angry because guilt quickly followed. She hadn't even noticed he was injured. She didn't remember much of that battle, having been knocked unconscious pretty quickly.

"Hey... Why aren't you more shocked by the existence of demons anyway?" Startled brown eyes sought out the green she was sure to find. They were carefully blank and she wondered when he had first noticed. She shifted away and tried to think of an answer that he would believe. She certainly couldn't tell him the truth. If he had heard of the story before, there was no way to predict his reaction.

"I could tell if you lied. I wouldn't even have to use my nose, your body language would give it away, _is _giving it away. If you aren't going to give me a straight answer, don't give me one at all." She felt him move away and huddled on the cold floor, regretting that she had no way to make him come back.

The silence quickly enveloped them both and the girl couldn't help but feel that the air around them was trying to smother her. She glanced over to see that he was still in his humanoid form, though he seemed to be moving around some blankets in a circular fashion, just the right size for him to sleep on when he transformed. She summoned up a bit of courage and decided to break the silence. "Why was your coat two colors like that? Red and gold, in patches?"

"It's a sign of my age. Most kitsune breeds have some sort of sign to show their age and their power. My tails show my level of power. My coat is about half gold and half red now. It will be totally gold when I reach one thousand. Past that, the only way to tell a kitsune's age is to be a very good guesser." As if anticipating the next question, he continued on, "I have eight tails. I won't get my ninth until I'm at least as powerful as Sesshoumaru, if not more so. Nine's the most any fox gets, even if their power grows a bit more. There isn't much room to grow past nine."

Shippo slid his eyes over the girl and pushed down the anger he still felt. It was a useless emotion. He had been angry for centuries now and it never did him a bit of a good. In fact, it led to him doing some rather stupid things. He couldn't be angry at this last remnant of one of the best parts of his past.

He grinned as she looked shocked to find herself with a thick blanket around her shoulders. "Apparently they decided beds were too good for us, but we do have some blankets. You're bound to be freezing once you stop thinking so much."

"...Thank you. I was getting cold." He smirked when she blushed prettily and briefly wished that net of Sesshoumaru's didn't keep him from using his powers as well.

"Well, in that case..." Shippo was delighted at the high pitched squeak she made when he sat down next to the wall and pulled her sideways to him. He couldn't do anything until Sesshoumaru was ready for his precious ceremony, and it was rare he ever got to exercise his natural sense of mischief.

"Um... What are you doing? Shouldn't you be in your fox form?" She asked hesitantly.

"Small fox form. I have a big one you know," He said absently, fixing the blanket around her. Her left side was leaning against him and he could feel how tense she was. In an effort to relax her he wound his arms around her on the outside of the blanket. "I should, but if I'm honest, it won't make much of a difference. I'll get healed either way, and either way I'll end up defeated. Sadistic bastard that he is, Sesshoumaru will probably keep me conscious just so I have to watch."

"What... What's he going to do, exactly?" She wasn't even sure she wanted to know. She was pretty sure she wasn't going to enjoy it.

"Use your blood to get a hold of his dreams," Shippo said cryptically. When she opened her mouth to ask for clarification (How much blood was he going to need? Where would it be from?) He shook his head. She could feel the motion as his head hovered above hers and sighed. Obviously he wasn't going to answer her if she did ask more.

"Just go to sleep. It will sort itself out. We both still need it."

She wanted to, but there was still something she needed to ask. "Are you angry at me?"

"I'm always angry at something." She flinched and he waited a beat before elaborating, "But it's not your fault you thought that. I can forgive you. Besides, I'd be beaten on by at least two females once I reach the afterlife if I don't."

She felt a bit unnerved by his easy mention of the afterlife and had to wonder what was going on in his head.

And then, she realized she probably didn't want to know.

* * *

End part.

I'm sure within a couple of chapters the pairing and the triangle will both become clear. Well, 2/3 of the triangle is already clear. Anyway, everyone, please review!

Thanks to Sukera, tbiris, and Ryokotsusei for reviewing.

Dark Inu Fan: Well, I think the majin thing is clearer now, if it still isn't, about what he is, there's the essay I mentioned in the author's note. As for what would happen if Kagome purified him... She couldn't. Or, she could, and can, hurt him, but she can't take him one on one. Spoiler He's class S-superior(S+) and in certain instances above. I've put a timeline blurb in the first chapter now as to make it clearer when this is. After the end of the anime version of Yu Yu Hakusho.

Foxylilraven: Your faith in Sesshoumaru is admirable, but sorely misplaced. He's off the deep end. /grins/ Because Sesshoumaru was always a bastard, even in his good moments(besides with Rin), and now with all these circumstances and Kagura as a mate? He's definitely gone nuts.

Winged Knight: You're very close with the sword thing at least. As for Kagura and the other dog demon, that's just something Kagura did. The dog demon isn't important to the plot besides the fact that Kagura cheated on him at one point.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

Confusing ish chapter. Sorry about the lack of battle scene, but the battle isn't that important right now, just how it comes to be and how it ends.

* * *

Chapter 4 - Decimated

Yusuke shifted his weight, the soft earth beneath his feet easy to move swiftly over as the majin turned, half expecting a threat. Instead, the footsteps, just loud enough to make sure he'd notice, belonged to someone he hadn't quite expected to see yet. "Kuwabara?"

A chill traveled down his spine and brown eyes met the pained and honest eyes of his best friend. Yusuke tried to shake off the feeling that something was very wrong, but even in his most oblivious he couldn't have ignored the way his friend seemed a bit too pale and how his mouth was drawn in a tight worried line. "You weren't supposed to be back from your vacation so soon. The world ending?"

Despite the light words, Yusuke was fully expecting that it was something of that nature. But when Kuwabara still hesitated, his patience started getting thin. "Damn it, just tell me, what the hell is going on?"

Kuwabara blurted it out before he could give any more thought to the subject. "Keiko's been kidnapped. By demons."

The words didn't register at first and Yusuke gave him a befuddled look. Keiko, kidnapped? The girl who was his on and off again fiancé, depending on what grievances they had dredged up that week? His mouth worked. "Because of me? We haven't heard about it."

"No. That's the weird thing." Kuwabara was studying him, waiting for the explosion that would have to come. When it didn't Kuwabara almost wanted to run for it. A quiet Yusuke was worse than a loud one.

"How?"

"No one really saw anything. It wouldn't have really made me think it was demons if there hadn't been a few stories of someone seeing a man with a tail come in and scoop her up. They were attacked by wolves." It sounded insane. The demon part sounded fine, but the wolves' part sounded crazy to Yusuke. By the grimace that Kuwabara used it didn't leave a good taste in his mouth either.

"Wolves? They weren't in the middle of nowhere! Why the hell would wolves have attacked them? Were the wolves demons?" Yusuke's voice was rising now and Kuwabara was almost relieved.

"I don't know, Urameshi! I wasn't there, only heard about it! There were wolves, probably demons, and a guy with a tail. It was dark when it happened, and her parents are dead so they can't say anything!" Yusuke stared at him as the shout faded into the forest.

Yusuke felt the blood drain from his face for a moment and the world tilted. He realized he was sitting a moment later when Kuwabara put a hand out to help him back out. He took it absently and kept on his feet this time. His eyes slid closed before he asked, "Keiko's parents are dead?"

"Yeah," Kuwabara returned quietly.

"Shit," Yusuke muttered, and stomped back toward the main shrine.

* * *

Kagome and Souta tried not to listen to the sounds that came through the walls over the rest of the day. They both sat on Kagome's bed, quietly talking and making plans. Kuronue was actually leaning back against one wall. He didn't bother to pretend he wasn't listening. He had one large ear tilted toward the wall, and one toward them. Both conversations were frustrating him.

"We aren't getting anywhere," he said finally. "Planning to battle Sesshoumaru won't do any good. Our plans will fall through anyway. Let's just leave and get to it. This is as good of a time to run to our deaths as any."

"We could win," Souta protested feebly. He knew that it was almost impossible. Sesshoumaru was too close to undoing what Rin had done, and they were too far away.

Kagome closed her eyes and didn't say a word. She couldn't tell them yet that she had a different plan. The jewel around her neck hung heavy on her conscience. It was a weapon. It would bring them hope, but it would never deliver. The Shikon no Tama never delivered anything except destruction. That was what Kagome wanted. As long as they were safe, did it matter who else died with Sesshoumaru? He was the one she needed to kill. If she could even pull power from the useless weight choking her, chaining her to a lifetime's service, it would be a blessing.

"Don't kid yourself," Kuronue said in a low, angry voice. He stared out the window at the darkening sky. It was time. They all had one goal in mind and would do anything to get it.

There was a knock at their door and all three turned suddenly wary glances to it. Kuronue shifted slightly to bring his hands in front of him and Kagome and Souta slid their feet to the floor. Kagome cleared her throat and let her eyes flicker to all the objects in the room, cataloguing their different uses as a weapon. "Come in."

None of them moved a muscle as the door opened and they looked perfectly casual, just as if they had been talking about the weather, not becoming ready for a battle. Red eyes looked at them from beneath green bangs. Yukina's eyes were downcast and Kagome's heart clenched at the lost and helpless look on her face. She had worn that look too many times herself.

"We were wondering if you wanted dinner," Yukina said halfheartedly. The three glanced at each other skeptically. Dinner would be a tense affair if they went, and none of them really felt hungry. Kagome knew she would just throw it up if she ate. Her nerves were too jumpy. She smiled at Yukina.

"Sorry, but I don't think any of us are hungry. We'll see you at breakfast." The lie slipped out of her mouth naturally. She wouldn't see her at breakfast. They were leaving tonight.

Souta kept his eyes on his shoes and he wondered if he looked as guilty as he felt. He had been hearing the things they said through the walls, and he knew where the girl they were missing was. But he couldn't tell them. He couldn't even tell Kagome and Kuronue until they left. The girl was in danger, but he couldn't have these people, innocents in this affair, stumbling into a situation that they weren't prepared for. He wouldn't be responsible for the deaths of that young woman's friends. He was probably already responsible for hers.

He knew Kagome would feel obligated to tell them if she knew. Kuronue would tell because he was a friend with one. They didn't need the extra baggage, no matter how strong these guys were. This wasn't their fight. Kagome hadn't even wanted it to be his. The boy wanted to bury his head into his hands. He had been such a stupid teenager, thinking that adventures would be fun, that battling demons was exciting. He hadn't thought about the blood on his hands or the shrieking bodies that hadn't quite purified, or the smell of ash that choked him and brought him to his knees. He just hadn't thought.

Souta wanted to be able to go back to his home and step up to their mother and tell her that he was done fighting and that everything would be all right. He wanted to be comforted in warm arms and he didn't want to have believed Sesshoumaru when he said that he could be an essential part of something bigger. He had only wanted to use their power to keep his enemies at bay and make sure that Kagome, his greatest threat, would be kept in check.

So Souta would keep quiet. He would stay still and pretend that those people next door had nothing to do with the girl who was going to be bled for Sesshoumaru. He looked up at the others and tried a hesitant smile. "We should try to get a few hours of sleep before we go."

They both looked at him in surprise and he wondered if something in his voice had given him away. Instead Kagome nodded and Kuronue gave a tiny proud smile. Kagome spoke, looking tired herself. "That's a good thought. It doesn't matter what we plan if we're dead on our feet when we get there. Midnight sound about right?"

Souta nodded immediately, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. Kuronue didn't answer except with a nod as he flipped himself onto the ceiling. Souta moved over to the bed that would have been Kuronue's if he didn't sleep on the ceiling. Kagome stretched out along her bed. The three of them all looked at each other one more time before Kagome ducked her head, and proceeded to force herself asleep, relaxing her muscles and letting her conscious mind drift. The boys followed her lead.

* * *

Kurama wasn't stupid. When he woke up to the slightest sound and what sounded like someone had just bit off a curse - or had their mouth covered - he sat up and began to get dressed, a slow simmering anger developing as something primal and golden snarled in the back of his mind. The three moving scents tempted his nose and he almost growled. He should have expected this. He had in fact, been expecting this. But not today.

He hadn't thought they would sneak out when the rest of his friends were too spent emotionally to even wake from their deep slumbers, never mind stop them or do the smarter thing he was doing. He was following them.

It wasn't particularly hard. They were so focussed on what they were doing that a bomb could have exploded behind them and they wouldn't have noticed as long as they were still intact. It was terrible tactics, but it worked for him. He still followed from a distance, keeping Kuronue's scent in his nose, and his curiosity in check. It perhaps would have been better to at least take Hiei with him, but finding the fire apparition would have taken too long. Who even knew if the fire apparition was still in Ningenkai?

Kurama blinked, his only expression of shock as the scent ended near a portal. He had expected that it would take longer. How did they even know this portal was here? No one was supposed to know about that portal. It was almost always opened, but considering it led here, to Genkai's shrine, most turned right around and went back to Makai rather than risk the wrath of those guarding it.

It was too late to turn back now. Kurama plunged in, his nose picking up the scent again quickly, but he stopped for a moment to get his bearings. Narrowed green eyes surveyed his surrounding. He was on the edge of a forest, with a plane stretching out before him. In the distance, he could see another forest, the trees tall and beckoning. Their scent headed towards it. Obedient to his curiosity and his anger at his friend, the kitsune in a human body set off toward it.

* * *

Shippo hadn't even looked up when the guards had come. He had simply set the girl to the side and lunged for them. It hadn't done any good in his weakened state, but he had managed a few burns and scratches before they knocked him to one side in a dazed state. His brain was sluggish after taking too many hits to the head, and he could barely move. He felt the chains go around his wrists and legs and he snarled. That wouldn't keep him once he was fully conscious and out of this containing magical web.

The girl was sobbing and he realized that he really couldn't do anything. They were dragging him along to watch and he wouldn't be able to do a thing. He growled as they half dragged him out of the dungeon and out from under the suppressing web. He would kill them all when he was free. He would kill and murder and destroy until he couldn't destroy anymore. Until Sesshoumaru killed him.

He watched through fogged senses as the room appeared. The girl was screaming and fighting every step of the way. She dragged her heals and scratched at her captors. They laughed at her and Shippo felt something burn inside him. That burn quickly blossomed into flames outside as things began lighting up with bright blue fire. Their captors screamed and Shippo snarled as more feeling came back. He pulled the chains apart and smirked, blue fire dancing on his claw tips.

"Don't even think about it kitsune," One not-burning demon snarled. "You won't last long against us, traitor."

Shippo didn't say a thing. He smiled coldly and stepped smoothly in front of the girl the two burning ones had dropped. They were currently beating the flames off of each other. In a neutral voice, he asked the girl, "Since it's almost over, I thought I'd ask, what is your name?"

He could sense the surprise from behind him. Finally he sensed a bit of warmth from her, and cherished it and his it away in his mind. He needed that bit of strength it would give him. "My name is Keiko. Yours?"

"I'm Shippo. You might want to close your eyes." He risked a flicker and saw she had. He went to work. He knew she might have seen worse than this, but he didn't want her seeing him do this. He didn't want her seeing the killer in him. His claws flickered with fire as he ripped through their captors and the whole hall soon danced in flames as Shippo didn't bother containing any of it except when it came near Keiko.

The last one dropped dead when a sudden wind buffeted him. He was thrown through the air and skidded to a stop several yards away. He glanced up, unsurprised to see the two pairs of angry glittering eyes. "So," he said casually, "you two finally showed up. I was wondering if you two weren't going to show. Can't really throw this party without you, can we?"

Golden eyes glittered at him and Shippo glared back. "It doesn't matter what you do here. Naraku will still have managed to kill those you couldn't, and you'll still have killed the one person you would have given your life for. This is pointless. You're whole life is pointless."

"We will see," was all he said before turning to Kagura. "Keep him there for as long as this takes."

Kagura pursed her lips angrily at the order, but the wind holding Shippo down didn't lessen. Sesshoumaru reached down to the quivering human near the chamber and dragged her in. Shippo realized that from here, he was too far away to do anything, but they had made sure he could see everything. "Bastards," he spat.

Kagura gave him a chilling smile and he glared at her, his eyes frustrated. He concentrated, trying to light her clothes on fire, her hair, her skin, and her very brain. It didn't work. She lifted one cool eyebrow. "Did you think the wind was flammable?"

"You aren't the wind. The wind is free." Shippo sneered as her eyes flickered. He knew their emotional soft spots by now. Sesshoumaru had closed his off, but some of hers were still open.

"Am I not? I will soon have power in my grasp, and I chose it." She smiled and his eyes flickered to the lights he could see growing behind her. With an effort, he raised his eyes back to her, wincing as Keiko screamed.

"You chose to tie yourself down. His power is not yours." It was the usual battle. Her control tightened and his head was forced to turn toward the chamber. Keiko was writhing in agony as Sesshoumaru held her over the bloodied spot on the floor. Impassively, he dropped her and watched her scream herself hoarse. He put one foot on her wrist and crouched down, balancing on the other foot. A knife flashed in his hand, glinting and glittering as it touched her arm. Sesshoumaru seemed to contemplate simply opening up her vein.

Shippo growled low in his throat. Somehow the knife was at least better than his claws. But then, Sesshoumaru couldn't risk that his own poison in her bloodstream would ruin his chances of getting that door open. The kitsune wanted to take his eyes off the scene. He wanted to close his eyes against the world and curl up in his fox form and walk in the forests and forget the last few horrible centuries.

The knife dug into skin, but the skin of her palm, not the vein. Shippo didn't know why he felt relieved. It didn't matter. They were going to die in the end anyway. It would be worse for the girl if she didn't die. But then, perhaps there was some hope. Shippo wanted to turn his head, to study the lights he knew were approaching the castle. The lights that were already too late.

Sesshoumaru gripped the human by her wrist and hauled her to the door. She was still gasping with the memories that Rin had managed to put there, in her blood that had splattered on the floor. He had never been able to get the stain out.

The human's bloody palm hit the barrier on the door and he almost felt it disappear. He dropped her to the ground and touched the door. His eyes lit up, and one eyebrow raised, the only triumph he would show. The door creaked open and he walked inside.

Shippo wanted to howl as the arrow came too late. Glowing pink, it went through Kagura and the demon blinked at the arrow in her chest. Her heart was there now, and this was unexpected. It hadn't purified her; one blow wasn't enough for that. Instead, the girl had killed her... Kagura's couldn't remember Kagome ever doing that when she didn't know the arrow would turn a demon to ash. What a surprise.

Shippo watched Kagura crumple to the ground and was up in a flash, staring at the three walking from the other end of the hallway. His eyes told them all they needed to know. Souta lowered his head and Shippo closed his nose against the salty scent of tears. Kagome and Kuronue were both grim faced and dry-eyed. Shippo waved good-bye to the last of Souta's innocence.

"We still have to try," Kagome said stubbornly, and she walked into the room.

"You really shouldn't," came a smooth voice from behind them. Kagome didn't turn. Kuronue did, to get a sword in his side and to face three demons. High levels if he wasn't mistake. Souta turned, a staff in his hand. Shippo briefly wondered where he had picked it up before the golden tailed kitsune followed Kagome.

"You've come too late. Inuyasha would be disappointed," a soft familiar voice said as they approached the chamber. Shippo darted forward and took Keiko away from the doorway, cradling her to his chest. Sesshoumaru noticed with a cruel smirk. He didn't say anything, but he let his new accessories tell them everything. Two swords were on his right side, one crackling slightly. Shippo's eyes flicked to the blood on Sesshoumaru's hand. It didn't smell like his. At least he knew how he had picked it up.

On his left side was an empty sheath. Tokijin was in his hand, thirsting for blood. Inuyasha's was no longer available, but it seemed it would settle for theirs.

Shippo tried to calculate what an S class demon with Tokijin in hand could do. With Tenseiga protecting him from death as well? "Shit," Shippo murmured. Then Sesshoumaru attacked.

* * *

Kurama had battled his way through some confused looking demons. Some simply ran in every direction, while some actually seemed as if they thought they should be standing against him. He quickly taught them otherwise. Some of them were a bit thicker than others. But the rose whip would cut through any substance, so even the thickest one caught his meaning eventually.

By the time Kuronue's scent was close enough that he could see him, the kitsune's shirt was ripped in a number of places, and his anger had turned to horror as he took in the scene before him. His friend was bleeding in a way that made him think he should be getting out of the battle and another kitsune was pushing a familiar looking girl onto the bat. The miko and her brother were swaying on their feet, but their hands were joined and he could see the barrier around them.

"Just take her, damnit. You have a broken leg and you'll bleed to death if you stay here! Save her, and damn it, save yourself. One of us should live!" The golden tailed kitsune cried, and shoved Kuronue away.

Kuronue stiffened in shock as a different hand supported him before he fell, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from howling from the pain in his leg. "You should listen to him. Your wings will get you there quicker than anyone's legs, and I do believe Yusuke will be relieved to see _Keiko_ alive."

A number of surprised eyes turned to him. The brother of the miko didn't look at all surprised, just guilty. Kuronue's mouth opened in surprise and he swallowed thickly. Duty overcame his stubborn pride and he looked back at Kagome for a long moment before he turned and opened his wings. With another apologetic glance at Kurama, he dove out the nearest window.

"You shouldn't be here," Kagome said immediately.

The barrier cracked before Kurama could say anything and all three of them in front of it cried out as power from a sword smashed into them. The miko dodged the best, with only a slight slice. The fatigued boy and the already injured kitsune were much worse. Blood dripped onto the floor, red and ugly.

"Neither should you," Kurama responded. He was shifting and turning and his eyes were suddenly every bit as golden as his new opponent's. The rose whip stopped another sword slash and the demon appeared surprised.

"Die," Sesshoumaru hissed. Kurama's eyes widened at the speed. The miko was worn out, the other two were barely conscious, and he didn't know what kind of barrier or plant would stop that sword.

The sword rebounded with a clang. Three sets of surprised eyes turned to the miko. The barrier was not her pink, but a light pale pink that was emitting from her hand, that was clutched around the end of a necklace. The other kitsune's eyes widened. He whispered, "You lied..."

"You're all in over your head. I insist on a retreat where we will reevaluate this opponent," Youko's silky voice commanded. Surprisingly, no one argued. This could be because one was unconscious, one was focused on controlling unfamiliar energy, and the other was too shocked and wounded to do anything but numbly grab the unconscious human and automatically agree to the older kitsune's request.

Youko Kurama waited, but the miko didn't even appear to notice. Sesshoumaru was snarling on the other side and his sword was cracking the barrier slightly. Another burst of energy smoothed it over and the dog demon stopped to stare. Youko took the opportunity to grab the human and drag her backwards. He didn't even stare when the barrier moved with them.

Behind him, slightly insane laughter sounded and the dog demon stared at them with gleeful eyes. "You should have destroyed it miko. More power that belongs to me, your Shikon no Tama... No one shall oppose me when I have it..."

Youko's eyes went round as he pulled her away and the barrier continued glowing. He peaked at her hand and managed to see part of a light pink curve through her fingers. As if she was holding an orb. Or an orb-shaped jewel.

"The Shikon no Tama..." Youko Kurama said thoughtfully. He looked at the miko. He glanced ahead of him where the portal was far from the castle they were exiting. Finally he glanced back. Then he looked at the miko in his arms, and smiled. Fangs showed and eyes narrowed. All the demons in the area thought better of approaching him. A smile on Youko Kurama was a scary thing indeed.

* * *

It was morning when the six stumbled back into the shrine. Kurama was himself again and he ignored the shocked gasps from those who had been about to start in angrily on them. Instead he thrust a severely injured human at Genkai and Yukina, and then tilted his head at Kuronue, whose eyes were glazed despite the fact he was still managing to hold Keiko. "Fix them."

The other kitsune simply sat where he was and seemed content to weakly glare at the narrowed eyed stares he was getting from a brown-eyed young demon. He now had Kagome in his arms. She was mostly uninjured, but she had collapsed the instant they stepped back into Ningenkai and when Youko had turned back into Kurama they had switched humans.

"We should call Botan as well," Yukina murmured as she swept back the hair on the boy's head before taking him from Kurama's arms. She smiled at the looks she was given. "I am stronger than you think I am," She answered to their thoughts.

"I'll give Botan a call," Kurama said neutrally when Yusuke didn't move.  
Genkai was guiding Kuronue who held Keiko into another room and when Kurama left to call on the compact, Shippo and an unconscious miko were left with a curious toushin.

"Who are you?" Yusuke demanded.

"Who's asking?" Shippo snarled defensively. He didn't like this, and he didn't have to. They would have been back fighting Sesshoumaru if that other kitsune hadn't ordered them away. If Souta hadn't been so injured and Kagome hadn't proved to be a liar as well, he would have disobeyed, despite the age he could sense on the other's skin.

"Urameshi Yusuke," he said, slightly proud. Shippo snorted and gave him a cool look before cradling Kagome closer and turning his attention to her. He eyed her with worry and then narrowed his eyes at the hand still clenched over the jewel. So, that was the problem. He pried her hand away from the jewel.

Almost immediately Kagome began to stir. Shippo put her by his side and leaned her against the wall; ignoring the odd glare the toushin was giving him. He would find out what was going on later. Or perhaps it was all just territorial issues.

"I'm so stupid," Kagome said as she opened her eyes.

"I could have told you that," Yusuke muttered as he walked over. Shippo resented the fact that he had said it first.

"Shut up. You're stupider than I am." It seemed an automatic reaction and that made Shippo hate him more. Kagome didn't have the right to react that way with anyone but one of them. Shippo wished he could call up enough strength to set the guy on fire. Shippo, Kuronue, and Souta were the only males who could agree with her when she said she was stupid. No one else.

"Really? I didn't come back with my brother and friend half dead, now did I?" Yusuke said coolly. "Or with someone else's friend."

Kagome looked blank for a moment before she squeezed her eyes shut again. "Sesshoumaru should have just killed us."

"He would have. The other fox made us retreat," Shippo said, then added, snarling, "you know, right after you used that jewel, the one you said you _destroyed_ to put up a barrier."

Her eyes flew open and Yusuke's presence was forgotten. "Oh, Shippo, I didn't mean to... I thought it would be safer if-"

"If what? If you didn't destroy it? You should have! It was your _duty_!" When she glanced away he grabbed her wrists harshly. "Why didn't you?" And his voice ended closer to desperate panic and hurt than he had wanted it to.

"I couldn't. I couldn't think of a pure wish. Everything seemed so tainted, Shippo! He had just _died_. Do you really think I could have thought anything pure at that moment? The only thing I wanted to do then was _die_." Shippo looked at her in stunned shock. He wanted her to be crying at the admission. She wasn't. She was looking at him with a clear gaze, full of apology and anger, and with a ring of truth.

"Do you still?" He whispered finally. Her eyes widened and they stared at each other until a rough hand dragged Shippo up.

"It's your turn to see the medics. Go in with Botan," the majin demanded. Shippo flexed his claws. Yusuke ignored him except to sneer at him. It was a look that said perfectly how seriously he took the exhausted kitsune right now.

The instant the newly arrived and very confused blue-haired girl had taken Shippo out of the room, Yusuke pulled Kagome to her feet, and let her stumble back when he abruptly let go of her shirt. "What the fucking hell is going on? Where have you been? And what the _hell _was that about?"

Wildly, Kagome thought he almost sounded worried. The thought made her laugh out loud. It was a strained, hysterical laugh that turned to tears as Kagome couldn't stop herself from breaking down anymore. There was no one to see. None of her friends were here, no one but Yusuke, who couldn't be more disgusted with her than he already was.

"What did you do?" She heard a mild voice ask, and Yusuke swore at him as Kagome sank back down onto the ground, curled her knees up to her chest, put her arms over her knees, and sobbed into the dark space she had created.

"I didn't do anything! Go check on Keiko and your bat, would you?" Yusuke's brown eyes glared frantically at Kurama, who looked at the miko with an odd gleam in his eyes. The red head began to take a step forward and Yusuke was pulling him back and pushing him toward another door before he realized the toushin had moved. They stared at each other in silence, one in guilty confused anger and the other in contemplation.

"Don't let her break while I'm gone," Kurama said finally. "She's an excellent weapon when she puts her mind to it."

Sometimes Yusuke forgot how cold Kurama could be. The kitsune saw what needed to be done, and he did it. Yusuke wanted to hit him, because Kagome had stopped suddenly and her eyes had gone dead and Yusuke was the only one allowed to push her that far. It had been an unwritten rule since she came here. He challenged, she responded, he did something or said something that hurt her. But never something so callous as that. Whatever he did, she could always come back swinging. It was fun. It was challenging.

The chilling blank stare from Kurama as he disappeared was not. The horror in Kagome's eyes definitely wasn't fun. Yusuke wasn't good at patching things up. He broke things. It was what he did. Sometimes from the pieces he could make something better, like forging friendships, but somehow he doubted this was going to be one of those times.

"He didn't mean it like that," Yusuke said lamely as he pulled the miko up and pushed her gently into a stumbling walk toward the kitchen.

"Yes he did," she said, and he didn't argue. This was worse than the crying had been. The crying was healthy. This was not. Too many things had gone on tonight that he didn't know about. All of it was confusing him and Kagome had been _happy _to see her brother and now she was worse off than the first time he had seen her, ready to face challenges she knew she couldn't win.

"Cheer up. You all lived, right?" In Yusuke's mind, if you walked away from the fight, it couldn't all be going bad. They were still alive. How tough could this Sesshoumaru guy be?

"Sesshoumaru is insane. He wants to beat us at our best. Besides, this gives him time to get full use of the swords," Kagome said, allowing herself to be pushed into a chair. She wasn't paying that much attention to what she was saying. Kurama's comment was squirming around her mind and invading every space, settling into her soul.

"Swords?" Yusuke asked, checking her arm. Her left shirtsleeve was ripped to pieces, and he simply ripped off the scattered remains to reveal the long bleeding scratches beneath. Shallow, but long. He glanced at her sharply. She was staring over his shoulder. She hadn't even noticed. That wasn't right. She should be jerking her arms away. She should be glaring at him and this should be an argument, not an interrogation.

"Three. His Tokijin and Tenseiga and... And Inuyasha's sword Tetsusaiga." A little bit of life returned to her face as she mentioned the name Inuyasha. She noticed what he was doing and scowled. "They'll heal on their own."

He already had a washcloth and bandages and was washing the dirt away. He smirked at her. "Maybe, but you don't want them to get infected, do you?"

There was challenge in his tone, an encouragement, and even Kurama's cold offhand comment didn't stop her from rising to meet it. "But it's my arm, and I should decide how it heals!"

Yusuke had already finished washing the scratches, and she hadn't stopped him, but she grabbed his wrist when he tried to go for the ones on her thigh and side. "Those will definitely heal on their own, thank you very much."

"Aw, afraid to have a man touch you? Don't worry about it, you aren't attractive anyway," Yusuke mentioned offhandedly, backing away. Kagome shook her head. She pushed Kurama's comment to the back of her mind to be dissected and analyzed and to get depressed about over later. She had work to do, and plans to make.

But it stayed there, taunting her, and she knew why he had said it. He knew what the jewel was, and how hard that power must be to control and not simply absorb it or let it corrupt. It made it a dangerous weapon. And that she was able to control it without loosing control made her a valuable one.

* * *

End part.

Thank you to Sukera, Ryukotsusei, and YAHAHEHEHEHEHE for reviewing.

Winged Knight: Nah, the white wolf isn't Ayame. Close though. 'Sides, why would Ayame talk about her grandmother, and not just tell Souta that the message was from Ayame? And now we know what was in that room that Rin decided needed locking away, don't we? Sorry I jumped around a lot.

Dark Inu Fan: I did e-mail you, right?

Foxylilraven: But if Keiko/Shippo is the pairing, what's the triangle/grins/. Remember, there is one pairing and one triangle in this.

VB: I'm not sure if this chapter makes anyone any less confused, but here it is.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha

Summary so far: So, Sesshoumaru's evil and killed Rin a long time ago. He kidnapped Keiko who was one of Rin's descendants and used her blood to free a chamber where his swords had been sealed. Kagome and her friends proceeded to get their asses summarily kicked and Sesshoumaru lets them go after seeing that Kagome lied and still has the Shikon no Tama.

Now, to something with a slightly lighter tone.

* * *

Chapter 5 - Aftermath

Kagome had stared at the ceiling of her room for a long time after she was left alone in the room given to her by Genkai. Most of the time she was obsessing over Kurama's cold statement. Oddly enough her thoughts kept turning to fretting over her mother when she wasn't thinking of those words. I had been almost six months since she had seen her. Her friends were injured, Sesshoumaru was going to go one a killing rampage for all they knew, and she wanted to see her mother.

Her thoughts turned to the shrine, its calming aura, and her mother's welcoming, forgiving smile. She sat up in bed and went to look for some paper. Minutes later there was a note attached to the door and Kagome had a jacket on over the shirt and jeans. She had more clothes at home, yet more at Sesshoumaru's castle. Obviously she wasn't going to the latter. In her head, she used the clothes as an excuse to the former Detectives. To her own family - and this included Kuronue and Shippo - they would know where she had gone when they saw her.

She was surprised that it was already late afternoon when she started out. As she paused in the doorway, Yusuke appeared from the room where all of the injured were being kept and paused himself with narrowed eyes, watching as she disappeared. He glanced back at the quiet sickroom, then to the door and grabbed his jacket, grumbling under his breath.

He caught up to her as she boarded a bus to Tokyo and took the seat next to her, smirking smugly when she jumped. She glared back at him, and pursed her lips. "I would have been back in a few hours. I left a note."

"Didn't see it," He said cheerfully, still congratulating himself on getting close to her without her even sensing him, never mind seeing him.

"Suddenly wishing my powers recovered faster," She muttered, swiftly deflating his ego. For a little while.

"That's what you get for sneaking off without telling anyone. So, Kurama filled us in on his bit, and Kuronue gave us some pieces from when he was awake before he passed out for the third time, but we still don't know what happened to Keiko, exactly. She isn't waking up. And your kitsune isn't being very talkative. Where are we going anyway?" Yusuke didn't bother hiding his grin as he glanced past her annoyed face to the passing landscape.

"I don't know, I wasn't there. If she's not awake, maybe she stepped on Rin's memories. And _we _are going nowhere. I'm going to visit someone." Kagome glared at him and shifted as far away from him as the limited space of the seats would allow.

"What's a rin? Who are _we _visiting?" His eyes lost a bit of their playfulness. He didn't trust them enough t let her go anywhere after that stunt last night. By all accounts if Kurama hadn't followed them, they would have died and he and his friends would never have been able to prepare for the major threat this demon was turning out to be.

"Rin is a who. Kuronue didn't explain about her? She's Keiko's ancestor." Kagome ignored the last question. She didn't want to answer. He wouldn't understand the sudden need she had to go and see her mother. Or perhaps it wasn't so sudden. It had just it had become a tad desperate at the close calls the night before.

"He didn't mention a name, or these memory things." More intent on finding out what was wrong with Keiko, he let the other matter drop. He would find out eventually anyway.

"Rin had been into blood magic. Actually, I guess you could say it was her specialty. Her power was with that kind of magic. So when her blood was spilled on Sesshoumaru's floor near the door... Well, the memories of her last moments were put into it, I guess. None of us know how she did it, or even if it was on purpose. Only a few can actually feel them. Keiko probably got it worse because she's blood." Kagome glanced out the window and willed Yusuke to be quiet for once. Her memories had turned to a little brown haired girl. She didn't even know what Rin had looked like when she was older, not really. Shippo's descriptions were never enough.

Yusuke, for once didn't press on. He couldn't think of another question to ask her. She had explained it all, and she hadn't arrived before Kuronue did. There was nothing left to ask, and she looked tense enough to start yelling and make a scene if he pushed anymore.

The bus ride stretched on for what seemed like forever to Kagome, but was in reality, only a couple of hours. Yusuke fidgeted after the first ten minutes of silence and continued fidgeting the whole two hours to Tokyo. Kagome was never so glad to get off of a bus.

She proceeded walking while Yusuke was still looking around curiously. It was a familiar part of Tokyo. Her feet even took her part of the way to school before she realized there was a shortcut to her home. She ignored Yusuke's looks and her pace quickened as more familiar sites came into view and the outskirts of Tokyo came closer. She didn't know how long she had walked, and she didn't care. She stopped in front of familiar steps and stared upwards.

Yusuke stared at her, then up the steps. He didn't see anything special about this place. "So? Is this it?"

"Yeah. This is it." She climbed the steps slowly, savoring the familiar feel of them beneath her feet. Then she lost her composure and bolted the last few steps and stopped long enough to drink in the sight of her house, standing unchanged, and the well house, old and dusty, and the top of the God Tree that she could see rising up.

"That's one big tree," Yusuke remarked from beside her. Kagome didn't pay any attention. Two people had appeared in the doorway and she saw her mother's hand go up to her mouth, those warm eyes blinking back joyful tears.

Kagome had crossed the space between them before her brain told her she was moving. Right now, her heart controlled her every move. She flung herself into her mother's ever welcoming arms. "Mama," She whispered in relief, in love, in apology. She said a thousand things with that one words, and her mother hugged her tighter.

"Kagome," She murmured back, and everything was forgiven. Kagome's grandfather looked on a few moments before Kagome disentangled herself and brought her grandfather in a much more gentle hug. It was much less needy, but every bit as loving.

Yusuke was studiously studying the tree he had earlier commented on, feeling like coming had been a very bad idea. She wasn't checking up on anything battle related. She wasn't even planning something. She had come to visit her family. Yusuke felt like a bit of a jerk, especially since he could see Kagome brushing away a few of those tears he knew she needed to let out.

"Why don't you come over here?" A friendly voice called, and he looked over to see the middle aged mother smiling at him. He stared, listening for Kagome's rebuttal to her mother's invitation. When it didn't come he turned confused eyes toward Kagome. He lips were quirked into an amused smile and he was only more confused by the relaxed aura she was giving off. She was never relaxed. But she tilted her head toward her home - her true home - in an invitation of her own, and he found that he was stepping toward them.

* * *

It was not a few hours before Kagome returned home. In fact it was only late in the morning, after Yusuke had slept on an oddly comfortable couch and had a very nice home cooked breakfast that Kagome's mother saw them off, a funny look in her eyes as she saw watched Kagome step out ahead of him. He paused to identify it as worry. He ducked his head and left and wondered how Kagome could have left that to go fight demons.

He hadn't even realized they'd been convinced to stay the night until he was halfway unconscious on their couch anyway. He had managed a peek into Kagome's bedroom before they left and had stared at it until Kagome had, blushing furiously at his gaping, shut the door in his face. Only then had he burst out laughing.

She was holding a bag full of clothes. He was carrying a few pounds of food. He looked sidelong at the miko at his side and decided she was looking peaceful enough to tease. "I'm going to savor that memory and use it for blackmail at a later date."

"There's nothing wrong with my room," She said, pointedly staring away from him. "Pink is a perfectly nice color."

"No, really, you could use it as a confusion technique. Present them with your kicking ass attitude and then proudly show them your 'nice' room with its _lovely_ pink and cream coloring." He grinned at her.

"Shut up. _I _happen to like my room." She paused for a moment. "Mention it to Kuronue and I'll lace Mama's cooking with poison."

He faked a horrified look. "Evil woman."

He leaned forward a bit and quietly congratulated himself on a victory at the smile she was attempting to hide. She looked... better with this visit. He hadn't even realized that the depressed, angry girl he had been seeing was the normal her. This was better. This _fit _her.

"You know, at least I left a note. You've been gone over half a day and aren't even in the closest city to that shrine." She was more serious now and he could see her reflecting on those they were probably making worry.

"They're used to me wandering off once in awhile. They won't be too worried. Forget about it." He paused a moment. "What was with that tree? It feels odd. And you spent over two hours out by it before you went to sleep."

She gave him a startled look and he rolled his eyes. He wasn't unobservant. He did notice when someone spent an unhealthy amount of time snuggled up next to a tree during a cold evening. Plus her grandfather had spent all of those two hours questioning him relentlessly. For a powerless old man, he was certainly fearless about demons. It was a good thing those wards didn't work.

"It's a bit of a special tree. Many powerful souls have been buried within its roots and it has been soaked in a line of mikos and monks. The line skipped a couple of generations to Souta." She had a small wistful smile on her face as she spoke and he almost missed the turn into the bus station as he observed the change in her.

"And you," He reminded. She seemed to be hesitating about something.

"Well... Technically it's not _just _genetics with me. My soul once belonged to another miko." She turned her head away from his searching gaze when her tone darkened with other emotions.

"But if it works in genetics, could that soul have still been yours if your parents hadn't already passed on the ability?" Yusuke honestly had little to no idea about genetics, reincarnation, or anything else. But he didn't like that tone of voice and would rather have her being silent and thoughtful than talking and depressed. She was a bit crazy when she was depressed.

He hadn't been far off. For the first hour of the bus ride she was quiet. But he didn't fidget this time. Instead he munched on the food they had been given, until Kagome looked up and noticed him gobbling it down and snatched it from his fingers.

A few sulky moments later he was startled to notice she was licking her fingers to catch the crumbs from one of the desserts in the small plastic containers. Her look back was a mix between defensive and sheepish, and the last hour had them stealing the food from each other every few minutes until the driver hissed at them to keep it down and no rough housing. Kagome shocked Yusuke by sticking her tongue out at him.

"What? I can act childish too." But she did look embarrassed. He would have found some way to tease her about it, but it was their stop and Kagome was scurrying off. He laughed softly and followed her.

They both stopped and glanced at each other when they came close to the shrine. Kagome wondered why no one else could feel the angry and frantic emanations from the shrine. She opened her both, saying inanely, "I think Shippo and Kuronue woke up."

"I think everyone is pretty awake," He grumbled as they came to the steps and he heard a high-pitched shriek of anger. "Including Keiko."

Kagome laughed at his expression. "Regretting that she woke up before you were back? I'd say this is perfect punishment for following me." She tried to joke her way to the door, but hesitated before opening it. The decision was taken out of their hands.

"So what's yours?" Shippo growled as he tugged her inside. She gulped at the three pairs of eyes glaring at her, one brown, one blue, and one green. Yusuke was already being screamed at by both Botan and the girl who Kagome reminded herself must be a fully recovered Keiko. Kurama was adding comments and Kuwabara was glaring at him disapprovingly. Then she lost sight of them as she was pulled into the kitchen for a little privacy.

"Where were you?" Shippo growled out first. They all looked prepared to keep going no matter what she said.

"Home," She answered immediately. Kuronue opened his mouth, then looked confused and shut it again. Kagome continued, "I needed clothes. Yusuke followed me onto the bus. Mama invited him in," As had she, though she carefully left that part out. They wouldn't understand how her heart had gone out to the young man when he had stood there, looking for all the world as if he didn't even know what "family" meant.

"I know it was silly, and I shouldn't be wandering off at a time like this... but I needed this. I've been so... I can't explain it. I needed to see Mama, and sit near the tree, and be _home_. Sesshoumaru doesn't know where we are, so I thought it was safe. I just... needed a break. I needed a little recovery time." _I don't want to be a weapon_, part of her cried. Weapons didn't have mothers or grandfathers, or awkward almost-friends who laughed themselves silly at the color of her room or looked as if he'd never tasted food before her Mama's cooking fell on his taste buds. People had these things, and she had needed to remind herself of her past and why she was doing these, and of the world she was protecting.

The jewel, while powerful, was just a jewel. She could control it, sure. But she would decide when and where, not anyone else. She wouldn't be used, not by her friends, and not by Kurama.

The three males were staring at her and Kagome felt a little smug at their speechless state. She waited and Shippo finally managed to look annoyed. "Damn it, Kagome. You aren't supposed to just explain yourself like that without us working ourselves up first."

Kagome stared at him in astonishment. They all did. Then, slowly, she began to giggle. They all followed her. If the laughter was a bit hysterical, no one would blame them. Laughter was as good as tears, and easier to recover from. When they finally stopped, focussing on the floor and telling themselves _not _to look at each other, there was silence in the other room and were on the floor.

Souta recovered first, ignoring the stunned silence of the next room. "I don't suppose you brought home any food?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, but smiled, cherishing this relaxed time before they would have to return to being fearful and panicked. "Males. Always thinking with their stomachs. We ate some of it, but Yusuke has the rest."

Souta's eyes almost glowed as he sprung to his feet and out the door. The cry of "Food!" was heard before an unmanly yelp was heard from Yusuke and a Souta zoomed back into the kitchen, closing the door behind him and glaring at the other three occupants. "Do you know how long it has been since I've tasted Mama's cooking?"

"You know, I've not tasted it for over five hundred years," Shippo said, edging forward.

"Wow. Must be good," Kuronue said, staring at the kitsune and human circle each other.

"I guess so. I mean, it is good, better than most homemade cooking, but I'm not sure it's the taste itself. Mama makes things oddly sometimes. I still think its just males. I've never responded to it this way," Kagome said proudly, ignoring the memories of the bus ride.

"Says the girl who kicked me in the shin to steal some of it back," Yusuke muttered in amusement from the doorway. There was a crowd of shocked humans, demons, and one grim reaper behind him.

"What are you doing?" Keiko asked of a frozen Shippo as he finally snagged one container from Souta. The rest were on the table. In Shippo's were a number of desserts, though only half filled now.

"Um," Shippo said elegantly. Souta suddenly lunged for it, backing away smugly, only to have it liberated by a shameless toushin. Kagome had edged closer to the doorway and promptly took it from him. Kuronue, in exasperation, took it from her and then quickly put it into the refrigerator nearby. He glared firmly at the rest of them.

"Save them for later. When you can split it evenly," Kuronue stated, looking threatening.

"Yusuke and I should get more since we brought it here and Mama gave it to us," Kagome said, deciding it was better to be sharing it - or stealing it - from one person than many. Yusuke caught the hint but didn't get to say anything.

"Hey! I'm her son, I deserve at least as much as people unrelated to me," Souta protested.

"I'm related by adoption! I'm her grandson and everyone knows grandmother's spoil their grandchildren!" Shippo exclaimed triumphantly.

There was a sudden pause as three pairs of eyes glared at Shippo and Yusuke and his friends switched their gazes between Souta, Kagome, and Shippo with confused eyes. Kurama's were narrowed.

"You know, there are some pretty far fetched legends about a hanyou, a monk, a taijya, a kitsune child, and a girl who claimed she was from the future," Kurama told the room, watching Kagome's suddenly frozen expression.

"Are there now?" Kuronue asked neutrally, but his eyes were boring into Kurama's. Kurama bared teeth that certainly weren't supposed to be pointed. After Kuronue's recent adventure he didn't see why he owed the bat anything.

"Time travel? Really, that's just stupid," Souta scoffed believably. Kagome swiveled to stare at him before wiping the surprise from her face. She didn't need this now. She didn't need her whole past flung out for a bunch of near-strangers to see.

"I'm sure you thought that telling anyone Keiko was at the dog's castle was stupid too," Kurama said sharply. Souta froze. Shippo growled low in his throat, and Kagome wasn't sure whether it was at Souta or Kurama. Her own eyes narrowed.

Enough was enough. "Come on," She said suddenly, sharply, and gripped the back of Kuronue's shirt as he opened his mouth rebelliously. She tugged him out of the room, and felt Shippo and Souta follow.

"Is there anything you can fight anymore? Or will you just run away from everything?" Kurama taunted, pressing his advantage.

"Kurama," Yusuke spoke sharply, glaring at the startled kitsune. "Shut up."

Kurama raised a curious eyebrow, but backed away from the subject, instead simply staring at the four retreating backs with calculating green eyes.

* * *

Sesshoumaru was the only one standing at Kagura's grave. There were others nearby, warily paying respect in hopes he wouldn't destroy them. But only he stood directly near it, his eyes contemplating the mound of dirt that were now piled on top of the wind youkai. The last tie had been set adrift. Sesshoumaru looked up.

There were children of two others who had been there, who had known her, but those two were not here themselves. There was no one left who tied him to Rin. Nothing but the swords at his side. Tenseiga was dark and cold. Tokijin screamed for blood. Tetsusaiga waited, rusted and cracked and a sharp reminder of two hanyous he couldn't beat but had been perfectly content to decimate each other.

His brother had been his to kill, if he had wished it. In the end, he had cared little about killing Inuyasha or receiving Tetsusaiga, but he still claimed the privilege of ending his life if he had wanted. But Naraku had cared little about his right to the hanyou's life.

And then he had Tetsusaiga, the sword that was useless to him, but was permanently his. The hanyou had left behind no progeny to give it to. Sesshoumaru was the last of his line. In his most clear-headed moments he knew he would probably always be the last of his line. Especially now. There was no dog demon that was worthy of him. There was no dog demon that would willingly have him. He had given the sword to Rin. She had once said she thought she knew how to unlock it for him. Tempting as it was, it was his brother's sword. He told her to do with it what she would.

She had locked it away. And then later, when Kagura had urged him to take care of some demons that had been talking of rebellion, she had stolen the last two swords. She had told him he was becoming cold. _"I want my Sesshoumaru-sama back," _she had said so long ago.

She had locked the other two swords away as well, locked with blood magic. That had been the end of that discussion - and the end of her. She had dared too much, and his claws had ripped her to shreds before he could control himself. The one time he had lost control and regretted it.

"This is your fault too," A voice said from the shadows. He raised his eyes from the grave of his last tie to her and the last tie to then and saw one he thought was dead.

"I would say it is the miko's," He returned. Black eyes glared into his. He was faintly surprised. He had thought her long dead. He had thought she had died with her father. Instead she had... grown up. Not much, but she looked like an adult and not a child.

"I would say Kagome gave her the true freedom she desired. You had put a cage on her. Too demanding and too aggressive. In return, she changed you. You were such fools," The dry voice held anger and contempt, despite the cold, blank face.

"I suggest you leave. You are her sister, so I give you one day to leave my land before I hunt you down, along with everything else." Sesshoumaru turned away and ignored the rest of what she said.

"There's no point to this destruction. Destroying all traces? It won't get rid of the memories." The female said it slowly, evenly, no emotion tainting her voice now.

"Kanna, come away. We should run. Get away from here before it begins." The new voice took a moment to register. Sesshoumaru turned regally to give the new woman a scrutinizing look. They were both gone when he turned, as were most of the wolves. Even the most loyal to him were fading into the forest. His lips twitched into a faint smile. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered now.

He caressed Tetsusaiga at his side, no longer crackling like it had done the day before. Rin had certainly done her research. One sword that thirsted for demon blood, another for human, and the last that would protect him from harm. He would only need to use one at a time, so his lack of two arms would not matter. He could always borrow one.

* * *

End Chapter 5.

Thank you to:

Ryokotsusei, VB, GreatestAnimeFreak, tbiris, and Kawaii Craziness for reviewing! Please do so again!

Winged Knight: At this point, whether Yusuke could wield Tetsusaiga in its original state is a bit of a moot point. It is an interesting concept, and I've thought it over before, but I'm still not sure. I need to see/read the explanation episodes again I think, to properly figure out the web of Yusuke's blood. I mean, he has a nucleus now, so he seems more demon that human, but he still thinks like a human... Anyway, I'm glad you liked it, and I hope the slightly lighter tone of this chapter wasn't disappointing.

Jem46: I don't think you did review before, but I'm glad you did now. I tried to make it as original as I could, and it is hard with so many ideas already used out there. Thank you for noticing.

FoxylilRaven: No, I think I'm basically off my kick of pairing Kurama with Keiko most of the time.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha

* * *

Chapter 6 - Respite

Kagome sat outside, sitting in the grass. She was supposed to meditating. Controlling little bits of her power at a time. Fine tuning what she could do. But really, she was thinking. It had been another two days since she and Yusuke had trotted off to see her mother. Kagome was keenly feeling the absence of Sango right now. Five hundred years separated them, but Kagome desperately wanted to talk to her about this whole mess. She had almost gone to Yukina and simply spilled out all her emotions, but she wasn't sure how Yukina was reacting to the fact that Kagome's enemy had bled one of her friends.

No one had a viable plan yet. And getting everyone in a room together was difficult. Kurama seemed to have a cold anger about him now, and he was constantly looking at her thoughtfully. Shippo was off. She hadn't realized why until she had stepped out from the kitchen one time to see him looking at Keiko with a very familiar and apologetic look on his face.

Kagome had cocked her head like a dog that had caught a confusing scent. Keiko had smiled at Shippo, all forgiveness and light and something more in the soft touch on Shippo's arm. They had been together for a few days in Sesshoumaru's castle. Now that they weren't in danger, Shippo had been avoiding her before that little scene. Kagome was uneasy at that look. It reminded her an awful lot of Inuyasha and herself when the hanyou had thought he had failed to keep her safe. Shippo's expression was a bit older, a bit more haunted, a bit more hidden, and Keiko's was calmer and the smile a bit more strained. But the core was there.

Kagome had seen them together more often after that, talking quietly about their lives. She had been surprised to see Kuronue had joined them once or twice, but she understood. Kurama was angry and Kuronue was curious a bit about both kitsune and human. The miko didn't join in.

Everything was so strained. Hiei, when he was there, distrusted them. Kuwabara was much the same, and he frowned at her often, a bit disapprovingly and had pointed out to her brother that he shouldn't let her fight. Neither of them had known she was in a nearby doorframe. She was getting good at lurking. Souta had laughed in his face.

Finally, her mind turned to Yusuke, her only near-friend in the group of former detectives. Presently, that familiar aura was approaching. She winced. She really wasn't good company right now. But here he was, coming over. She opened her eyes as he sat down next to her.

"Yo," He said calmly, and he grinned at the involuntary uplifting of the corners of her mouth. Point for him then. If none of them were getting anything done, they might as well be a bit less depressing about getting nothing done. "Not really doing well on the meditation thing. You just look tenser."

"Any reason I shouldn't be?" She asked, keeping her voice level. The smile dropped from her lips. For just a second, she had forgotten about Sesshoumaru. But no, now he was back, in a little corner of her mind. Golden eyes were burned into the back of her mind. Red and gold matched, and now they were matched colors of death. Red eyes, gold eyes, eyes that laughed at her of stared through her, stripping her down to nothing. Another, brighter set of gold came into her mind and she shoved them away.

"It's not going to help." He stretched himself beside her and she scowled. He snorted. "You don't really scowl scarily. Just looks wrong on your face, now that I've seen you smile."

She blinked a bit, surprised, confused, and feeling a little awkward. That had sort of been a compliment. He put his hands behind his head. "We'll figure something else. If we don't a little old fashioned ass kicking might do some good. Not exactly a weakling here. And we'll be more prepared this time. Since you know, this time I get to actually get in on the action."

"It was our fight," She said defensively to the slight accusation in his voice. Things had been different just a few days ago, and she wouldn't have felt _right _asking him to come with them. He hadn't been an ally. Her eyes went a bit distant as she thought about that. Too many things had changed in the past few days. Things were going swiftly out of control. Or more so. The tingle down her spine was familiar. She had walked the past when everything had been out of control. She missed it sometimes. This was different, yet the same.

"Hey," Yusuke said sharply, and she blinked to find him scowling at her from too close, their arms almost brushing as he leaned up and toward her. "You're getting lost again."

She leaned away, shivering slightly. He was too close right now, when she desperately wanted space. This was thinking time that he was interrupting. She didn't respond right away to his comment, instead picking at the grass as she shifted away from him.

Finally, with a slightly bittersweet smile, she said, "I think I may have been just a bit lost since I turned fifteen. In thought too."

She could sense him scowling harder, and glaring at her slightly and she dropped the three blades of grass in her hands. They settled perpendicular from everything else. If she looked at them in a certain way, they looked like they going through the other pieces.

"Cryptic much," He snapped after a few second of silence and she grimaced. She didn't want to lose the bits of friendliness between them now and she quickly looked up, her eyes seeking his, but now he was the one sullenly turning his head to the side.

She scooted hesitantly closer. She didn't need space enough that she would drive off the only person who had actually come to speak to her in the past two days. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be. But I have. Fifteen was when I first discovered demons. Or, they first discovered me, I guess."

It was an offering, and Yusuke's head whipped around a bit too fast. She shied away a bit but he was grinning at her, slightly smugly. He didn't even bother to hide it. She was partly angry and partly amused that he would go to such lengths. It was a bit more of story telling time, then. Obviously he had eventually planned to get her to tell this. By the slightly startled expression underneath the smug happiness, he hadn't thought it would be so soon.

She shifted until she was facing him and leaned back to prop herself up on her elbows, forcing herself to relax. It would help, if he knew more about the whole situation. Help them all plan, if a plan could be made.

"Kurama was right about the time traveling," She began, and paused, a bit lost.

"Couldn't tell," He murmured sarcastically and she made a disapproving face at him before smiling and taking a deep breath.

"I suppose it began, for me anyway, on my fifteen birthday. You see, my brother had followed my cat into our well house."

* * *

"What is she doing?" Shippo asked from his position on a far away roof from the toushin and miko. "Why are they even talking? Their very natures-"

"Mean nothing, and you know it," Kuronue shot back, a bit fascinated by the growing friendship. Between them, Keiko was also staring curiously.

"I didn't know when you said, 'Let's go on the roof' that it really meant, 'Let's spy on our friends'." Keiko smiled at Shippo and he ducked his head, shrugging. Kuronue smirked at the both of them, watching them look at each other from the corners of their eyes. Keiko was perfectly aware of some of the more gruesome parts of Shippo's past now, and had brushed it aside. Not that she hadn't been a bit shaken by either of their pasts, but as she'd pointed out, they had changed. It bothered her sometimes that Shippo at least did have that in him, but when he had spoken of Rin she could understand. He never wanted it to happen again. And they were evil, those he killed.

And Kuronue's sense of mischief that popped up was balanced by his serious, protective nature. He was loyal to a fault, though he did have a tendency to jump to conclusions a bit. He based a bit too much on first impressions sometimes. He really was the calmer of the two, and when Shippo's more relaxed self peaked out, it caught both Keiko and Kuronue's breath to see the cunning there, and the mischievous kitsune that had been stunted by the death of those he loved, and how he had killed.

Kuronue knew that Souten's death had been just as hard on him as Rin's. Another he loved that he had been unable to protect. But he barely spoke of that, and Keiko didn't push. Kuronue didn't push him to tell her more of that either.

The bat smiled slyly. "Didn't you know? That's always the code for 'Let's spy on our friends'. Well, unless its code for, 'Let's make out where no one will see us'. " Kuronue stopped and looked at them. "Unfortunately, its obviously not the last one."

"I knew that one. Yusuke never should have kept meeting Botan on the roof. It would have made me less suspicious when I first met her," Keiko said lightly, but she was watching Yusuke and Kagome now, a puzzled frown on her lips.

"I think we're missing the 'What the hell is she doing?' part of this. Look, I know neither of you quiet have my range of hearing-" Shippo was interrupted.

"I come pretty close. Might even be better. He wants to know. Stop being so protective. He's not too bad. Right Keiko?" Kuronue smiled slyly as Keiko turned brown eyes on Shippo and the kitsune looked away. At least this gave him something to do besides avoid Kurama, watching these two just be the slightest bit foolish. He wondered if it could really come to anything. After all, kitsunes were all thieves, and the toushin wasn't exactly guarding this treasure very well.

"Yusuke's really ni-... Well, he has a good heart. And he can keep secrets. Besides, when he's curious about something, he doesn't let go. He doesn't get curious about other's pasts very often, you know. I think Kurama's comment intrigued him. She doesn't seem to mind. Why do you?" Keiko glanced up at the kitsune and green eyes finally looked down into hers.

"Its my past too. And theirs. I just... He isn't safe, whatever else he is. She trusts too much." Shippo shifted his eyes to look into the distance. Kagome had been hurt too much. Her innocence had been so tarnished and destroyed by this. He remembered the smiling eyes and the gentle comfort, and the looks she and Inuyasha had exchanged.

"You know, I did wonder about the friction between them before," Kuronue said suddenly, putting it out there for the other two to study. Mostly he watched Keiko, who appeared startled, but not very betrayed for someone who was affianced to one of those in question. He watched relief, confusion, and finally guilt run across her fact. The bat youkai smiled when she glanced at Shippo. Much better. He knew they had known each other for what, a few days, a couple of weeks? It didn't matter. It would either fade just as fast, or stick forever. It would be interesting to watch.

And it gave him something to do besides join Kagome and Souta in angsting.

Shippo's reaction was typical. Kuronue was ready to restrain him if he had to. The golden tailed kitsune snarled and looked quickly back down at the pair. Yusuke appeared entrapped in the story Kagome was weaving and both of them had blocked out the rest of the world, lost in the story. It was a good thing, because Shippo and Kuronue made a racked when the bat grabbed for the kitsune too late and they began to tumble off the roof.

"Oh!" Keiko gasped, and started to grab for them, futilely she knew, when both with sudden and almost identical grace flipped themselves and dug claws and hands into the roof. The edge dangled closer and Kuronue's wings flashed out, one hand digging into the roof, the other flashing out toward Shippo.

No one said anything for a moment. Keiko breathed in relief and felt a bit foolish. The roof wasn't high enough to hurt them. Yet, her heart still beat a bit too fast.

"Sorry about that," Kuronue said finally to his friend and carefully let go of the kitsune, who snorted, a bit angrily, but also in embarrassment. Their claws had made long marks on the way down.

"I could have jumped back up," he said finally.

"True, but Keiko probably would have panicked if you had," Kuronue pointed out, jerking his head upward. Shippo followed his gaze and Kuronue removed his hand as he felt the muscles tense in the demon's shoulder. An instant later he had managed an almost graceful climb back up to Keiko. Kuronue rolled his eyes expressively at the way they stared at each other a moment, hovering a bit too close. Kitsunes were foolish about few things, but females and shiny things were two of them. Well, Kuronue was a bit too attached to his own necklace, which was also a shiny thing, but that was personal.

* * *

It was evening when Kagome stopped speaking. They had taken a break once, to acquire water. She had given him the bare facts, and as many details as she could remember. She knew there were things to fill in. Tsubaki, she felt, had been overlooked too much in that section of the story, but then, it was a bit hard to put into words what she had done to Inuyasha and Kagome. Deja vu for the hanyou, and a horrible despair for Kagome. Funny even now how the tainted shards could have done that to her. The visions, not the controlling. She had seen them control others. But she was the only one who was connected to the jewel in her soul. That had been a bit hard to put into words too.

But the end had been the hardest, explaining Inuyasha's death. She remembered kissing him before the battle began. But he hadn't lived. Nor had Kikyou. Or, rather, she had become truly dead once she realized Inuyasha was gone, and Naraku had been destroyed. There had been nothing left for her. Well, almost nothing. Kagome had been sitting beside Inuyasha's body. Kikyou had stopped by where Naraku had disappeared. Then she had walked over and dropped the Shikon no Tama into Kagome's hands. It had gone from cold to warm quickly, and Kagome had shivered as she realized that it felt like it belonged against her skin - under her skin even.

She wanted to get up and run now. Yusuke was giving her the most compassionate look she had ever seen him give and she hated it. She hated this. Why did the past have to be so hurtful? She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and buried her head out of view, silently letting the tears fall. She missed Inuyasha so much sometimes, but it wasn't just that. She missed them all, and parts of the tears were from the guilt and fear of Sesshoumaru. Wasn't it partly her fault that this was happening? What if she had stayed in the past? Or even just a few days ago been a bit faster, had managed to get there sooner...

"Yusuke!" A new voice shouted. "Koenma has news!"

"You told Koenma?" Yusuke asked the female voice, sounding slightly offended. Kagome tried to place the voice. That girl... a woman their age. She remembered now. Not a woman at all. Her aura was different. It was a glowing light in a fake human body. A spirit to guide dead souls. Botan.

Kagome shuddered and backed down away from the sensation of energy all about her. That was odd, and she was pretty sure it was a side effect of the jewel around her neck. Especially since it had happened once before since she had used it. The jewel seemed warm against her skin. She briefly wondered if it could be put back inside her. That thought, too, was put to the back of her mind. But those horrifying thoughts had stopped her tears. She still didn't look up, cocooning herself in darkness.

"Of course I did! The worlds are in danger from this demon! Anyway, he seems to be... gathering things. Certain demons mostly. And searching for a way in. He has resources. There is always a way from Makai to Ningenkai. He could simply suppress his powers until he steps onto this side. But he is also gathering other demons. They're... strange. There are also rumors that he thinks the Shikon no Tama is in Ningenkai." Botan rolled her eyes as Kagome looked up. Kagome's eyes shot to Yusuke, who avoided hers. She smiled just a bit at him and when his eyes caught hers, he smirked back.

"Oh dear! Have you been crying? Are you all right?" Botan was by her side in another instant and peering at her with those oddly colored pink eyes.

Kagome leaned away slightly and wiped at the tear tracks on her face, smiling at the fretful spirit. "I'm okay. Just some bad memories getting to me."

Botan hesitated and stared at her a few moments worriedly. Then the blue-haired woman leaned back with a sigh. "Something about Sesshoumaru? You shouldn't blame yourself for this, whatever he was to you before. You can't always predict someone's actions, no matter how well you know them."

Kagome's smile faded. She opened her mouth to correct Botan. She didn't know Sesshoumaru very well, and never had. He had helped them for his own reasons, and he had betrayed everything that Kagome had thought was good inside him. She couldn't help blame herself. She should have tried to know him better, to watch him and see him for what he really was. It was her almost blind trust she felt guilty for, not for being blind to a friend's faults. She should never have counted him as a friend in the first place.

"You're right of course. Silly of me," She managed to say instead and shifted her gaze back to the ground, feeling Yusuke's eyes on her.

"Oh, not silly at all!" Botan exclaimed quickly. "It's a normal and very human mistake."

Kagome met her eyes and smiled. She wondered if she could trust any of them with her story. She had told Yusuke already, so that was too late to take back. But she couldn't trust this spirit, something neither human or demon and who reported to a being that Kagome had never met and hoped not to meet for a good long while. She didn't trust what she didn't know.

Yusuke shifted restlessly as the silence between the two girls stretched out. It wouldn't have been half so awkward for him if he hadn't seen that stupid girl truly smile a few times now. He knew enough about her to know she was faking her ready agreement to Botan's assumption. He willed Botan to leave so he could ask the miko _why _she was misleading one of his friends.

"I should go get everyone else gathered up. There's other news too. Koenma was quite confused by the appearance of you and your brother. And the fact that Kuronue is alive. I know that the weapons he carried out were swords... And his name sounds familiar..." Botan trailed off, looking at Kagome thoughtfully. Kagome knew perfectly well she was probably thinking about Kurama's comment about time traveler. She hoped she hadn't told Koenma about that as well.

"We'll be there soon," Yusuke said, interrupting the two girls. Both jumped slightly to stare at him. He glared at them. "What, forget I was here?"

Kagome was caught between a "Yes" and a "Never" and settled on smiling at him as Botan flushed. Obviously she had actually forgotten he was there a moment, so intent upon Kagome.

"I'll leave you two to finish up your conversation." Botan shot a look at Yusuke that Kagome obviously wasn't supposed to notice. The miko smiled at the warning in the guide's eyes. Maybe eventually she could trust that one too.

Both of them waited until Botan was inside the shrine before turning their attention to each other. Yusuke quirked an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing. Kagome shrugged her shoulders and met his eyes seriously.

"I don't trust her. You can't expect me to. I don't even know her, and she'll report everything to her boss." Kagome ground her teeth a bit as she heard her voice turn defensive. Yusuke was still studying her intently, but there was a slight change and Kagome stubbornly met his gaze.

"You told me," He pointed out. Kagome shifted slightly, glancing away, and wondered if she could feel any more awkward.

Finally she quirked a smile and shrugged again, saying lightly, "Must have been all the stress going to my head. Makes me act a bit crazy."

Kagome caught him still staring and held her breath. Inwardly, she hoped he left it at that. She didn't want to look at why she could trust him, who had been so rude and gone out of his way to anger her. She didn't even want to have to admit she trusted him, especially when she the present situation she was in was for trusting too much in the wrong people.

"Nah, can't be the stress," He began, and she tensed, but he was looking into her eyes and she waited. He grinned at her and said flippantly, "You've always been crazy."

Kagome stared at him a moment, caught between pretending to be angry and simply being amused. In the end, her laughter ran out and she giggled slightly before getting to her feet, watching Yusuke do the same. They both glanced toward the buildings where distant voices could be heard. Kagome sighed out loud.

"It won't be _that_ boring," Yusuke said, turning his head slightly toward her.

"No, it's not that. It's just... this is going to be a long battle. One that's my fault. I already went through that once." Her eyes went distant as four faces appeared in her mind, one simply a younger, smaller version of Shippo. Sometimes it was hard to reconcile that cheerful youngster with this present Shippo. But she did, somehow, and it pained her to think of what he had to go through to get that far.

"That's bullshit," Yusuke scoffed. She jerked her head up in surprise but he continued before she could speak. "You can't just put all the blame on yourselves. The crazy asshole is responsible for his own actions. Hell, they both were. The first time, yeah, you broke the jewelry, but you didn't cause what people did with it."

He began walking and she hurried to catch up. She frowned and opened her mouth, only to be cut off again. "You must have known this at one point. You couldn't have come this far by blaming yourself for every little thing that went wrong because of something you did. Why blame yourself for what some overgrown mutt does?"

Kagome's eyes flashed, a bit angry, but she bit her tongue to keep herself from saying something that would damage this fragile alliance. She couldn't - didn't want to - risk breaking this friendship, and she knew anything she said in anger would do just that. The voices from nearby were closer and she was surprised to see they had walked quickly over to the building. Yusuke stopped and looked at her. She realized he was waiting for her to say something.

"Maybe you're right," She said reluctantly, and held up a hand, "But maybe you aren't. It doesn't matter right now. What matters is Sesshoumaru and what he's doing. We can sort out who is or isn't for blame once he's dead."

Kagome had to admit there was also the option that they would be the ones dying, and rather thought that was more likely, at least for her. Yusuke was glaring at her, his jaw ticking. "It matters more now than after he's kicked the bucket. You can't fight him if you're feeling guilty for his actions. You might as well fight yourself!"

"I don't have time to think on it now!" Kagome cried, too frustrated to stop herself this time.

"Then make some damn time! You won't be any use if you're moping around!" The doorway opened nearby and all of their friends stared out as the two faced off, a familiar stance by now. Kagome heard Kuronue growl slightly.

"Can't you two ever _not _fight?" He snapped at them, just as frustrated with their argument as they were with each other. His good mood was quickly evaporating.

A smaller figure slipped in front of him and Keiko stood there, looking angry with both of them. "No ones going to get any closer to getting this demon if you two don't stop this right now, and come inside! We're waiting on you. Even Hiei's here today!"

Yusuke and Kagome reluctantly dropped their gazes to glance over at Keiko. Yusuke looked behind her and was surprised to see that was true. Hiei really was there. Either he was on one of his periodical "visits" where he stared at them from a tree all day and _perhaps _talked to one of them, or he was doing the same thing as them. Yusuke thought that, considering he wasn't in a tree, he was probably here to find out if they had any more information on this dog demon than he had found on his own.

"Fine," Yusuke said, a bit childishly, and stomped by the gathered crowd, only stopping when he was standing by his usual seat and didn't hear the miko's steps follow. He glanced back and saw that both her fox and bat were whispering, Kuronue looking angry, and Shippo looking protective and arguing with both Kuronue and Kagome.

Souta was the only one who wasn't still gathered at the doorway. He had slipped down onto a cushion and was staring with a confused expression at the spectacle the three were making. He glanced over at Yusuke. "I guess you and my sister must fight a lot for Kuronue to be so exasperated. But what did you say to Shippo? He looks angry, and I don't think it's directed at Kagome."

"I didn't do anything!" Yusuke snapped, and grudgingly softened it when he saw how startled the kid was. "Not as far as I know."

Kagome's voice was slowly rising from outside as she glared at her two companions, waving her arms a bit wildly. "Neither of you two are my keepers! I will say what I want, to whom I want, when I want! If I want to spend time with someone besides you two, I will!"

She stomped by the onlookers and sat down - next to Yusuke's usual seat. Yusuke sank down and looked at her from the corner of his eye. She wasn't looking at him, or her friends, or in fact anything. She appeared desperately interested in a spot on the wall opposite them. An invisible spot that apparently moved whenever Shippo or Kuronue came into her line of sight.

"If we're all done with the drama for today..." Kurama trailed off, staring at them coolly.

Kuronue, perturbed, replied nastily, "I don't know, isn't it your turn? Sure you don't want to cause some damage? I know, let's bring up all of our thieving days this time. We've already done Kagome's past, don't you think it's our turn? Oh, we can even bring up when I died! Won't that be fun?"

Kagome and Shippo seemed to forget they were angry at him as they gaped at the bat youkai. He rarely got that snippy with them. It was difficult to plan things when your voice of reason started being the unreasonable one.

"Kuronue?" Kagome questioned hesitantly. He didn't even glance her way, staring at Kurama. She could feel his aura flickering. She was surprised the sounds in the room - what few there were at that moment - didn't begin fluctuating with his aura. That was what his youki controlled. Thankfully, the sound of the wind blowing outside stayed steady, and the slight breaths from nearby stayed quiet.

"Kuronue?" Keiko echoed, worry in her voice. "Are you all right?"

The extra question added on seemed to do it, as he turned away from his staring matched with a surprised Kurama to look at her. He gave her a slight, reassuring smile. "I'm all right. We're all just... a bit too stressed."

"Crazy," Yusuke muttered under his breath. Kagome smiled slightly next to him. Shippo glanced over and growled at Yusuke. Yusuke glared back at him. He hadn't done anything to the kitsune.

"So! Plans!" Botan exclaimed into the tense silence. "Anyone have one?"

Everyone stared at her blankly.

Botan sighed. "That's a no, then?"

* * *

End part.

Review please!

Thank you to: tbiris, FoxylilRaven, and Dark Inu Fan for reviewing.

Winged Knight: He couldn't use Tetsusaiga when he took it out, but alas, that didn't last. As for the sword idea, Inuyasha doesn't know how to use a sword either, he just starts swinging it. And it will take a lot of work for them to stop Sesshoumaru. Horror of horrors, they'll have to work together! For Yusuke - I never saw him as a hanyou, because a hanyou is half and half, but a random half and half. Yusuke gets a certain set of the demon genes, and keeps a certain set of the humans ones - a hybrid, to borrow someone else's word. Like when plant genes are mixed together carefully to get a certain kind of plant that looks a certain way and has properties they want. Yusuke still has his human appearance (ignoring the fangs) as long as he doesn't transform, and his human ki along with his demon, which is very unlike Inuyasha's hanyous. I see him as having a lot of the demon genes, considering he has a nucleus and not a heart. shrug It's all theories anyway as it's not like they go into what percentage of each he has inside him in the show. It gets a bit confusing, so I think I'll just stick with calling him a majin since it could encompass most any of the theories and explanations.

Ryukotsusei: Thank you. Kurama's always a difficult one. He's so calm and cool but when he gets angry he stays angry.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

Author's Note: Yes, long time since the last update. However, I'm mostly writing on another account in the KH fandom now, so these aren't big priorities.

* * *

Chapter Seven - Redirection

After the useless meeting where everyone put forward tentative ideas that had no chance of working, it took a surprisingly small amount of time for the tension to rise to a point where a fight could, and did, happen. It wasn't really a surprise to anyone who had been watching - which included everyone except Kagome, who had been blind toward the rising aggression Shippo harbored toward her new friends - Yusuke in particular.

When Yusuke, turning a corner, bumped into Shippo, the kitsune stumbled a step, heard the beginnings of a muttered excuse, and lunged. It was easy for him to fight. He had been doing it since Rin died. All he did was fight and kill, and here was someone who took Kagome's attention from them, and dared to try and lecture the miko. He didn't know her.

Yusuke cursed in shock, but was over it quickly. He had known the kitsune disliked him, and twisted away from fiery claws. In a short amount of time, Yusuke had managed to move the fight outside through the simple strategy of jumping out a window. Then the two really fought. Shippo knew, from the start, that Yusuke was powerful, but he was stunned when he realized just how powerful he was. It occurred to him that the boy would be a good ally - if he butted out of the personal side and stayed away from his friend, who had once been his mother. It was confusing to think of Kagome sometimes.

"What _is _your problem?" Yusuke growled as he ducked beneath a claw and then kicked the fox.

Shippo tumbled back and scraped at the dirt, jumping sideways as a punch landed in the spot he had been at an instant before. "You are."

"Really? Cause I kind of thought it was Sesshoumaru," Yusuke shot back, perfectly at ease with the exchange of punches and the lunges the kitsune made with his claws.

"You have no right," He began, hissing in pain as Yusuke landed a hard blow. "To even _look _at Kagome the way you do," the kitsune finished, and fire erupted close to the majin's present position as for a moment he stopped, looking a bit shocked.

Then both kept moving, neither stopping to exchange words, though for Shippo it was because he couldn't without losing. For Yusuke, it was because he wasn't sure what to say, and it was easier simply to flow into the rhythm of the fight than figure out what words to say.

Keiko was the first to notice the two, who were simply sharp flashed of blue light with a few moments where they stopped to breathe before charging each other again. She gasped, and almost screamed at them, but she knew it wouldn't do any good - and would possibly do them harm. She bolted, looking for anyone who could help. Mostly, this included Kurama or Kuronue who each had a hold on one of them. Instead she ran into Kagome.

Keiko nearly knocked the other girl off her feet and Kagome reached out to steady them both. Keiko had to catch her breath a moment from her sprint before she said in a rush, "Shippo and Yusuke are fighting outside and do you know where Kuronue or Kurama are?"

"That way," Kagome answered automatically, pointing. Keiko ran off again and Kagome stared after her before the sentence sank in. Then she took off as well, much faster than Keiko had gone, and back the way the brunette had come.

It was easy to find them, even though they had fought their way out of sight. All she had to do was follow their energy. They were pillars of youki to her, spread all around them, power that rippled through the air. She could also tell Shippo wasn't paying much attention to his fire. Somethings were burning. The fire eventually turned normal as it began to burn, and Kagome cursed as she stared at the beginnings of a few small fires. "Damn them," she whispered, and ran faster.

She skidded to the stop at the edge of clearing that she was sure used to be part of the forest. She felt a chill run down her spine as it took her eyes a few moments to adjust to their fighting. They were going all out, or at least Shippo was. She assumed Yusuke was, but she could barely follow his movements. They both looked very serious. She ignored her own safety and sprinted toward them. Too involved in their own fighting, they didn't notice until she was suddenly between them.

Yusuke swore and managed to stop. Shippo's reactions were slower, and he was more tired than Yusuke was. He realized too late she was there, his instincts screaming at him to attack, and then to stop, the signals mixing. He did try, but all he could see was startled blue eyes, the thought to defend never occurring in them.

His claws hit empty air and he stumbled, falling into a crouch as he shook in reaction, his eyes following Kagome's scent. He couldn't even growl when he saw Yusuke's hand on her shoulder, the toushin looking a bit pale. Kagome was standing very still for the first moment their eyes met.

Kagome pushed off Yusuke's hand and walked over to Shippo, startling both males. Yusuke's eyes flashed with anger as she quietly inspected the injuries Yusuke had given the red head. "That's it? He could have killed you!"

"Not on purpose," She answered, and absently evaded him when he tried to reach out and pull her away. "If you two hadn't been fighting in the first place, it wouldn't have happened."

Yusuke grabbed at her again and this time caught her, pulling her back and turning her toward him. "If I hadn't moved you out of the way, you'd be _dead_. Don't you get that?"

Yusuke acknowledged the kitsune's flinch and felt vindicated. The kitsune should flinch, considering what he had almost done. It was all to easy to imagine Kagome dead by his claws - or claws in general. Sesshoumaru had claws as well and Yusuke ignored the nervous feeling he felt at the thought. She was a warrior as much as they, if one who seemed reckless sometimes - and there was the jewel. He didn't know what Sesshoumaru would do about that.

"It wouldn't have happened if you two hadn't been fighting. I had to stop it," Kagome replied, her eyes calm and staring at him with an oddly peaceful look. She was plainly waiting for something, but he didn't realize what it was until there were footsteps behind them and a familiar throat cleared meaningfully.

He turned to find mostly everyone out there now. Most were looking at him and Kagome - many with suspicion and all with curiosity. He realized then that he had still had his hands on Kagome's shoulders until they approached. he darted a glance at Keiko and it was his turn to be surprised. She seemed curious, but not suspicious - and Kuronue's hand was on her shoulder. It should have disturbed him - it didn't. Neither did the comfortable way she looked with that hand on her shoulder. It should have, but it didn't and he scowled at them all, opening his mouth to make some remark, but it never came out as he realized Kagome had taken the chance to go back to Shippo's side and inspect his wounds.

"He's right you know," Shippo said in a low voice that was still loud enough to carry.

"Yes, he is. Just because someone has their facts down doesn't change my actions or opinions one bit," Kagome remarked and Yusuke resisted the urge to growl.

"Stubborn bitch," He muttered and felt the air tense. Especially the kitsune and her little brother froze. Kagome raised an eyebrow at him and snorted derisively, but that was all.

"Stubborn yes, but I don't see how my actions can be constructed as being dog-like," Kagome responded with a very even tone of voice. Yusuke suddenly realized what hot water he was in. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were dog demons - and Inuyasha had called her names a plenty if he remembered the story.

"Just stubborn then," Yusuke muttered, the closest he would come to apologizing. Kagome turned back to Shippo, much to Yusuke's irritation, and the atmosphere relaxed.

"What happened, then?" Kuronue asked as he moved to help Kagome check over and bandage Shippo. Unlike the others, he had known no matter how soon they were able to get there, someone would need bandaging.

"She doesn't fucking think, that's what happened!' Yusuke burst out. "She jumped right in the damn middle of the fight!"

"I didn't stop in time," Shippo added quietly.

"Almost, you mean?" Kuronue asked, but he was already shifting his gaze to Kagome and then to Yusuke.

"Yusuke grabbed me out of the way," Kagome explained absently as she took some of Kuronue's supplies to clean a long deep cut on Shippo arm. It would heal within a day, but until then she wanted to keep it clear of infection.

Souta shrugged as took over, "Seems like it turned out alright," he said, and shouldered Kagome away with her handful of supplies. She glared at him and the boy's intent look went over to Yusuke, then to the supplies in her hands. he glared at her and she glared back, but finally grudgingly accepted the assignment.

"All right?" Yusuke yipped, barely noticing the miko now. "She could have been killed!"

"You said that already. Sit down." Kagome followed him down and frowned at him. Shippo had more broken bones and internal damage, but Yusuke had more scratches and burns - more damage that showed, much less damage over all. Still, there were a few deep cuts that she knew she should clean. She refused to let herself be amused at how easily he had followed her instructions.

"And I'll say it again," He snapped at her.

"You can if you want. Shirt off," She commanded, and he took his shirt off, not even wincing despite the fact she knew that must have pulled a more damaging wound.

"I do want," He snapped, and then shut his mouth abruptly. "What are you doing?"

"Even demons have to watch for infections," She answered him mildly. She was already washing one long claw mark and Yusuke grimaced at the feeling of the cold water against the wound.

"But why you?" He asked, exasperated. She didn't reply, but someone else did.

"Kuronue and Souta have Shippo, and they're trying to make you two talk - probably in the hopes you'll fight less later if you get it out of your system now," Keiko piped up helpfully, her slightly pleased tone sounding like she agreed with them.

"I'm too exhausted to argue with Yusuke about nothing today," Kagome said mildly, and Yusuke frowned. She did look more tired than usual.

"Why?" He demanded. She didn't pretend not to understand.

"I've been training a lot, physical training, meditation, and trying to understand the Shikon no Tama. We don't have much time." She finished cleaning his wounds and stood up. "This was my break, I have to get back to training now."

Yusuke couldn't help but feel guilty that she was helping them on their break. He didn't even think before offering, "I could help. You need a sparring partner."

This time there was a muttering from Shippo, quickly silenced by Kuronue and Keiko. Yusuke didn't know why, but he almost felt like he was holding his breath. Then Kagome's lips quirked into a smile. "Sure. You can laugh at me when you hopelessly outclass me, too."

"It'll make my day," He retorted and got up, stretching and ignoring her rolled eyes. So she had just cleaned the wounds – he was just making sure she had done it properly. He pulled his shirt back on and glanced around. Mostly there were amused and exasperated faces now. The worry was mostly gone – though Souta had an odd look on his face as he stared at them. Yusuke couldn't read it.

He shrugged it off and grinned at the girl by his side. "C'mon, let's go get into a fight."

She had to laugh. "We do that anyway."

"Yeah, but this one won't be interrupted." He grinned at her, pleased to see her return it. This would definitely turn out to be fun.

* * *

Kuronue stared at the stars and listened to the sounds of Yusuke helping an exhausted Kagome back. They both sounded relatively happy, and their banter had less bite than usual – though Kuronue couldn't help but wonder if they realized that they sounded as if they were flirting half the time. He heard the approaching footsteps but didn't turn his head. Kurama stopped behind an outstretched wing and Kuronue finally did stare back. He was flat on his back, wings outstretched, and Kurama was staring at him with a peculiar expression.

"A lot has happened. I have come to realize that I do not know you as much as I once did," Kurama started carefully. Kuronue raised an eyebrow and wondered if the kitsune realized that it sounded like he had prepared the speech. Actually, knowing Kurama – if he could say he still did know the changed fox – it probably had been planned.

To forestall more of the same stilted talking, Kuronue snatched at the ankle of one foot and pulled. His position mad it awkward and his friend fell with a yelp – partly on him, making the breath leave his body. "Ow."

"Your fault," Kurama murmured, sounding amused as he rolled off – and onto his wing, which was unusual. He expected Kurama to get off, but he didn't. The kitsune instead stared at him. "I mean it, you know."

Trapped as he was – and it was definitely on purpose – Kuronue had no choice but to shrug playful – but with an air of seriousness. "I know my friend. And you didn't expect what you consider my betrayal. I have new friends – but you are still important to me. We have changed, but I hold dear to me the memories of our escapades – and the things we stole, of course."

"Of course," Kurama said dryly. "Like the mirror that we stole that almost got you kill."

"Ah," Kuronue said inelegantly. "You want to talk about that?" His expression clearly asked, 'Do we _have_ to?'

"Perhaps not now. But someday I will want to know what happened. When this is all over." Kurama was smiling slightly, but Kuronue sensed the demand, the _order_ behind it, and he accepted it. Beyond them, in the house, there was a shout of male laughter and an angry female yell.

Kuronue smiled in spite of himself. "I am not the only one with a friend among your group. An odd start, but Yusuke and Kagome are getting along well."

"Of course they are. Their very natures tell them that they should never be friendly to each other. Yusuke always goes against what he _should_ do, and by what you've told me and what I've seen..." Kurama trailed off meaningfully.

Kuronue sighed and filled it in. "Kagome does the same. Sometimes I think the more people tell her she shouldn't do something, the more she desperately wants to. But then, I suppose I could say that about a lot of teenagers."

He smirked at Kurama's narrowed eyes. It was odd that Kurama considered himself both teenager and old demon, but Kuronue had picked up on it right away and was having endless amounts of fun teasing him about it subtly. Kurama flashed sharp teeth at him in the darkness. "And what do they say about the age old powerful demons who follow those silly teenagers."

"They say we're crazy, of course." Kuronue managed to make a solemn face and added, "They're right, of course. But I knew I was crazy once I accepted an offer from a kitsune. Something about stealing precious books from powerful demons three times our age and strength, wasn't it?"

"I think we both may have been a bit drunk when we decided to do that," Kurama admitted. Kuronue shrugged. It had been a fun night, drunk or not. And they had still managed to pull it off.

"So, what are we going to do about Sesshoumaru?" Kurama finally asked.

Kuronue stared back up at the stars. "Train. Watch what Sesshoumaru does – and hope that we can win. For the sake of ourselves, and all three worlds. And for Kagome's sanity."

"She'll be dead if he wins," Kurama stated flatly, coldly. Kuronue hated it when Kurama talked about Kagome now – since the Shikon no Tama had been revealed the kitsune had been nothing but frigid toward her.

"I don't know about that. The Shikon no Tama is deeply connected to her – I think more deeply than even she knows. Sesshoumaru is crazy, but he is not stupid. Why kill something when he could use it?" Kuronue watched Kurama carefully as he spoke. Kurama wanted to use Kagome, and Kuronue was trying to make a point. He saw a flicker of anger flash in Kurama's eyes and sighed. The kitsune didn't want to listen.

"Would she let herself be controlled so easily?" Kurama asked coolly. Kuronue gazed at him sadly and pulled his wing out from under the kitsune.

He stood up and said quietly, "She would die first. But he can fix that quite easily, you know."

He turned away from his friend and opened his wings wide. He wanted to explain it all clearly to Kurama. He wanted to explain how hurting Kagome just hurt them all. But... He couldn't. He didn't know how. Kurama was right, they didn't quite know what to say to each other anymore. Kurama felt hurt, and was blaming Kagome most of all – and the power the jewel had wasn't exactly a small temptation either.

* * *

Kanna sat quietly in the wolf den. White wolves sat all around her – and a few brown, but mostly they were white. She look at the alpha female – though they pretended that it was one of the younger wolves that was alpha. Yet, Kanna knew the truth. The one they all called Grandmother – or Mother for those few that were her direct children and not generations after – was definitely the one in charge. And she was not as crazy as many had thought, either, which she was showing her clear eyed gaze and thoughtful expression. "She still has the jewel?"

"So it seems. Sesshoumaru wants it, of course," Kanna stated blandly. Ayame snorted, rolling her green eyes and surprising many of the younger wolves with her active movements. They were her used to just staring.

"Of course. He's insane. The Shikon no Tama is always coveted by the insane. It's some kind of rule. Naraku, for instance. All those stupid demons who wanted an easy path to power – all dead now, aren't they? Kagome will manage to do the same to Sesshoumaru. With our help of course." The wolf demon stood and stretched, her white tail swishing eagerly behind her. "Finally, a fight."

"I advise strong caution. She had many powerful allies now. We should plan carefully and contact her before making any moves," Kanna said, staring straight ahead. She had spied on them as best she could, and been relieved that Kagome's luck held true even now. She always managed to find the best allies.

"Sure, sure. We won't move until she's ready – but that's no reason not to make sure we're all at our best. I swear, this pack has let itself be ruled by fear too long. It needs a good rousing _rebellion_! What do you all say?" She grinned at her pack and got some muttered cheers. Her smile vanished and her green eyes glittered angrily "I said, you lazy dog-whipped shit-eaters, _what do you say_."

"REBELLION!" They screamed, partly in fear of her reprisal – but when it became a chant Ayame's head lifted to look at all their faces. Kanna blinked once at seeing the grins on their faces. And then the chant became a howl and all she could hear was, "_REBELLION, REBELLION, REBELLION!"_

Ayame joined in and then lifted her head at the last syllable and really howled, and the wolves themselves joined in with the demons. Kanna let out a tiny, tiny smile and whispered, "Rebellion."

Perhaps, if the wolf demons could overcome their fear, then they could do it. Kagome would want them there – the more help, the better. Kagome and her friends could take care of the powerful ones – but there were the weaker demons that would obey Sesshoumaru's command. The pack would tear through those simpering puppies. Kanna's black eyes shone and she whispered, "For my lost future, rebellion."

* * *

Sesshoumaru gazed down upon the shrine. The tree was familiar – he remembered the tree for sure. Inuyasha had been kept their for half a century. The miko's home stood nearby, an old man and a human woman. Those he had collected around him rustled restlessly. They wanted to attack. His golden eyes flickered to the door as it opened, the old man coming out, toward the tree that Sesshoumaru recognized from long ago. He couldn't kill them both – but a little blood would appease his followers and tell the miko he was serious.

"Kill him," He ordered, his voice making the man's head snap up. He watched coldly as the human's eyes widened, just before half a dozen demons jumped onto him. He didn't even have time to scream before they were tearing into him, biting and clawing at his flesh. Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose in disgust at their barbaric actions. They could have at least used weapons.

He stalked by them and the dead human. The door loomed in front of him. He knocked politely and waited. The woman who opened the door could have been an older Kagome – if Kagome had never known the things she knew. If Kagome had kept more of her innocence. Impassively, Sesshoumaru grabbed the woman as she gasped. "You will come with me."

"You look... like Inuyasha," the woman managed to say, despite her obvious fear. The dog demon looked at her and snorted.

"I am his brother," he stated shortly. The woman began to ask another question which he probably wouldn't have answered – but then she saw the demons destroying her father's body. She screamed, and out of annoyance he knocked her unconscious.

He grabbed a fire demon by it's arm. "Burn it down. Leave the man's body untouched."

"When should I stop it?" The demon asked. Sesshoumaru's lips curled up into a feral smirk.

"Don't stop it. Let it burn for as long as it wants." As long as the old man's body was there, Kagome would know. And if a few of her neighbor's ended up dead as well, then all the better. Let her rage futilely at him from afar. She would never be able to do anything unless she came to him – and she would. She wouldn't be able to help but come to him, with or without her friends. He had her mother, after all.

But he stayed to watch it burn, and raised an eyebrow curiously as the tree was also untouched. But then there were human voices approaching and he left, disappearing into the darkness with the miko's mother under his arm. On the other shoulder was his new arm, taken from a wolf demon. It wouldn't last long, they never did, but it would do for now. And he had only needed this one arm to destroy the miko's world.

* * *

End part.

Feedback is always welcome, I'll reply if you have any questions as long as you're signed in or leave an e-mail.


End file.
